tibrarjp  of  tive  ti^eolojical  ^eminarjp 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Rufus  K.  LeFevre 


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f       MAY  21  1952  ^ 
THE    LIFK    N^^y /,/..«..  ocu\V? 


Bishop  J.  J.  Glossbrenner,  D.  D. 

OF  THF 

UNITED  BRETHREN  IN  CHRIST, 
WITH  AN  APPENDIX 


CONTAINING   A 


NUMBER  OF  HIS  SERMONS  AND  SKETCHES 


REV.  A.  W.  DRURY,  D.  D., 

Author  op  **  Life  op  Ottkrbbin," 
with  an  introduction  by 

REV.  JAMES  W.  HOTT,  D.  D. 


Published  for  John  Dodds 

BY 

United  Brethren  Publishing  House^ 
dayton,  ohio, 


Copyrighted,   1880. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

Scope  Taken  —  Family — Training  at  Home  and  at  School — 
Training  from  Life — Surroundings 17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Conversion — Joins  the  United  Brethren  Church— Class  Lead- 
er— Exhorter — Preacher — Preparation  for  the  Work 29 

CHAPTER  III. 
Attends  Virginia  Conference  —  The  Field — The  Session — 
Joins  Conference  —  Sent  to  Hagerstown  Circuit — Year  of 
Success  —  Elements  as  a  Preacher — Conference  of  1832 — 
Staunton  Circuit  —  Itinerants'  Home  —  Marriage — Confer- 
ence of  1833— Ordained— Returned  to  Staunton  Circuit 44 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Conference  of  1834 — Elected  Presiding  Elder— Staunton  Dis- 
trict— Re-elected  Presiding  Elder  in  1835,  1836  and  1837 — 
Incidents — Sent  to  Shiloh  Mission  in  1838  and  Returned 
in  1839 — In  1840  and  1841  on  Frederick  Circuit  —  In  1842 
Presiding  Elder  on  Maryland  District — Incidents  from  His 
Maryland  Work — In  1843  on  Rockbridge  Circuit — In  1844 
and  1845  Assigned  to  Staunton  Circuit  —  Character  as  a 
Preacher — Personal  Elements — Sermon  at  Franklin — Sup- 
port of  Church  Interests— Extracts  from  Published  Articles 

— Home  Life 63 

V 


VI  .  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTKR  V. 

PAGE. 

Delegate  to  General  Conference  of  1S37 — Original  Character 
of  the  Church  —  Condition  at  this  Time  —  A  Constitution 
Adopted — Delegate  to  General  Conference  of  1841 — Debate 
on  Constitution  —  Mr.  Glossbrenner's  Attitude — Clause  on 
Amendments — Acceptance  of  the  Constitution — Other  Acts 
of  the  Conference 88 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Delegate  to  General  Conference  of  1845 — Educational  Work 
Begun  —  Elected  Bishop  —  East  District — West  District — 
Otterbein  University  Founded  —  Virginia  Conference  in 
1847 — Camp-meeting  Sermon  —  Middle  District — Spirit  of 
the  Church  — Aversion  to  Lauding  Men  —  General  Confer- 
ence of  1849 — Temperance — Secret  Societies — Slavery — Re- 
elected Bishop  — Assigned  West  District —  Holds  Confer- 
ences on  Middle  District — West  District — East  District — 
Execi:tion  of  the  L,aw  on  Slavery— West  District 108 

CHAPTER  VII. 

General  Conference  of  1853  —  Extension  of  the  Work  — 
Depravity — Course  of  Reading  —  Organization  of  Mission- 
ary Society — Slavery — East  District — First  Round  —  Pre- 
sides in  the  West  —  General  Conference  of  1857  —  Infant 
Baptism — Settlement  of  the  Depravity  Controversy — East 
District — Church  Dedications — L,ast  Year  of  the  Quadren- 
nium — His  Services  and  Character — Relation  to  Slavery — 
Home  lyife 145 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
General  Conference  of  i86i — Returned  to  East  District — Shut 
Up  Within  the  Confederate  L,ines— His  Work  During  the 
War — Preaches  to  Southern  Soldiers  —  His  Loyalty  to  the 
Union— Journey  Through  the  Lines  and  Return — Close  of 
the  War— General    Conference  of    1865 — His    Course  Dur- 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAGE. 

ing  the  War  Approved — "Obnoxious  Resolution" — Con- 
troversy with  McCue  —  Welcomed  on  the  East  District — 
Holds  His  Conferences — General   Questioning 174 


CHAPTER  IX. 

General  Conference  of  1869  —  Lay  Delegation  —  Secrecy  — 
Union  Biblical  Seminary — African  Mission — Ohio  District 
— Closing  Address — Removal  to  Dayton,  Ohio  —  In  1870 
Visits  Pacific  Coast — Traveling  by  Stage — Colorado  Mission 
— Meeting  of  the  Board  of  Missions  in  Baltimore — General 
Conference  of  1873 — Lay  Delegation — Special  Law — Under 
a  Cloud  —  West  Mississippi  District  —  Closing  Address — 
Made  Doctor  of  Divinity — In  1876  Visits  Pacific  Coast — 
General  Conference  of  1877  —  Old  Questions  —  Sermon  on 
Character  of  Bishop  Edwards — East  District — Sickness  — 
Railroad  Accident  —  Churchville  Church  —  Article  on  Lay 
Delegation — Seminary  Discourses 203 

CHAPTER  X. 

General  Conference  of  1881 — Pro  Rata  Representation — Ohio 
District — First  Round — Taken  Sick — Dedication  at  Dayton 
— Second  and  Third  Rounds — Missionary  Sermons — Leba- 
non Valley  Baccalaureate — Last  Round — Sickness — Oppo- 
sition at  North  Ohio — Faithfulness  as  Bishop — Change  in 
Sentiments — Golden  Wedding — His  Family — Congratula- 
tions —  Death  of  Mother  Shuey  —  Sickness  and  Death  of 
Mrs.   Glossbrenner — Bereaved  but  Still  Battling 232 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Nineteenth  General  Conference — Bishops'  Address — Changed 
Attitude  of  the  Church  —  The  Commission  —  Producing 
Causes — Embarrassments  to  Progress — Emeritus  Bishop — 
Expressions  of  Esteem — Last  Address — Sermon  —  Imme- 
diate    Engagements — Session    of    Church    Commission — 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE, 

Further  Work — Sickness  and  Death — Nature  and  Signifi- 
cance of  Life  and  Character  —  Personal  Characteristics  — 
Secular  Side  —  Social  and  Religious  Character — Character 
as  a  Preacher  —  His  Eminence  —  Character  as  a  Bishop — 
Qualities  as  a  Presiding  Officer — Influence  Immortal 254 

APPENDIX. 

SERMONS   AND    SKETCHES. 

The  Love  of  Christ — I  Magnify  Mine  Office — Disputations — 
Sowing  Beside  All  Waters — The  Open  Door — Pray  for  the 
Peace  of  Jerusalem — The  Church — Look  Upon  Zion 295 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  hand  that  would  trace  the  lines  of  a  noble  life 
after  that  life  has  been  transferred  to  the  land  im- 
mortal, has  set  itself  to  the  performance  of  a  delicate 
task.  When  the  heart-throb  ceases,  and  the  soul  goes 
out  into  the  world  beyond,  no  one  can  replace  among 
the  forces  of  earth  the  throbbing  heart  which  has  been 
stilled,  or  stir  again  the  strains  of  the  voice  hushed  in 
death.  Then  something  has  gone  out  of  this  world 
which  can  never  come  again. 

It  is  the  mission  of  biography  to  trace  out  the  footsteps 
of  a  life  as  that  life  has  placed  them  in  the  path  of 
human  historj'.  The  biographer  must  approach  the  task 
of  reproducing,  in  a  living  form,  the  spirit,  and  thought, 
and  deeds  of  the  departed.  He  should  stand  in  closest 
fellowship  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  in  which  the 
subjedt  lived  and  toiled,  and  gather  up  the  forces  of 
that  life,  and  place  on  the  thought  and  under  the  eye 
of  coming  generations,  those  fadts  and  principles  which, 
in  a  peculiar  sense,  belonged  to  that  life,^  and  which 
lifted  it  above  the  ordinary  and  made  it  illustrious. 
He  must  set  the  deeds  of  that  departed  life  in  perspec- 
tive outline  upon  the  times  in  which  it  appeared,  that 
they  may  tell  again  their  story  of  struggle  and  triumph. 

Such  a  life  as  that  of  Bishop  Glossbrenner  deserves 
to  be  lived  over  again  a  thousand  times  in  the  thought 

ix 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

and  heart  of  others,  and  especially  among  the  people 
of  the  Church  in  which  he  was  the  most  conspicuous 
figure  for  almost  half  a  ceutury. 

No  man  since  the  days  of-  Otterbein  impressed  his 
spirit,  thought,  and  charadter  so  strongly  on  the  United 
Brethren  Church  as  did  Bishop  Glossbrenner;  not  that 
he  was  copied  or  imitated,  for  he  was  unique  in 
charadler,  and  no  man  could  ])e  like  him.  He  was  as 
the  sun  which  shines  gcnth"  upon  the  earth.  His  .spirit, 
and  life,  and  thought  shone  benignantlj'  iipon  the  Church 
in  all  parts,  and  poured  upon  it  an  illumination,  leading 
men  to  a  purer  Christian  service  and  a  nobler  manhood. 

The  writer  will  never  forget  the  impressions  made  upon 
his  heart  the  time  he  first  saw  Bishop  Glosisbrenner, 
nearly  thirty-five  years  ago.  He  was  then  in  his  prime. 
He  was  a  round-faced,  splendidly  formed  specimen  of 
manhood,  but  gentle,  and  courteous,  and  humble  as  a 
child.  The  writer,  then  a  mere  lad,  watched  with  deepest 
attention  every  word  and  adt  of  one  so  revered  in  his 
father's  home.  How  thoughtful  and  kind  were  his  words. 
With  what  benedidtions  his  hands  clasped  the  little  hands 
of  the  children  of  that  home,  and  how  tenderl}-  his  right 
hand  rested  upon  the  heads  of  those  children  whose 
mother  he  had  received  into  church  fellowship  many 
years  before,  when  she  was  but  a  maiden.  With  what 
tenderness,  and  comprehensiveness,  and  thoughtfulness, 
and  earnestness  he  prayed  for  all  at  the  family  altar,  and 
then  went  his  way.  Who  that  ever  saw  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner in  the  home,  and  heard  his  prayers  at  the  home 
altar,   could  ever  forget  him  or  cease  to  love  him  ? 

Nor  can  the  writer  ever  forget  the  time  he  first  met 
Bi.shop  Glossbrenner  at  an  annual  conference.  It  was  at 
Edenburg,    Virginia,    in   1862,   as   the  cloud  of  war  was 


INTKODUCriON.  XI 

deepening  and  darkening  over  the  whole  sky  of  our 
nation.  No  one  felt  the  sorrow  of  the  deepening  shadow 
so  keenly  as  he.  His  love  for  the  Church  in  Virginia 
induced  him  to  remain  there  and  suffer  with  his  brethren. 
The  writer,  with  five  others,  became  members  of  the 
conference  at  that  session.  With  what  hopefulness  the 
Bishop  addressed  this  class  of  young  preachers.  With 
what  earnestness  he  preached  before  the  conference  on 
the  Sabbath  day.  How  he  spoke  words  of  consolation 
and  hope  which  seemed  to  come  diredlly  from  God  to  the 
troubled  hearts  of  that  band  of  consecrated  men  who  had 
resolved  to  die,  if  need  be,  for  Christ  and  the  Church  they 
loved.  With  what  deep  solicitude  he  remembered,  and 
prayed  for,  that  portion  of  the  Church  from  which  he 
was  painfully  separated.  The  exalted  opinion  and  tender 
love  for  the  BivShop  awakened  thus  in  early  life,  no 
one  could  lose  by  association  in  after  5'ears. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  as  a  man  possessed  gentleness  and 
kindness  in  a  large  measure.  He  was  no  less  a  man 
of  strong  courage  and  undoubted  firmness.  He  had  a 
high  sense  of  manly  honor,  and  nothing  so  sorely 
wounded  him  as  for  him  to  feel  that  any  one  cast  over 
him  even  a  shadow  of  suspicion  as  to  his  own  honor. 
He  was  incapable  of  such  a  refle(5tion  iipon  one  of  his 
brethren.  In  his  home  life  he  was  most  tender  and 
affedlionate.  He  was  a  typical  Virginian  and  possessed 
all  those  splendid,  manly  elements  which  charadlerize 
the  noblest  phases  of  society  in  the  State  where  he 
spent  most  of  his  home  life  during  the  long  term  of 
his  general  labors  in  the  Church,  and  to  which  his 
peculiar  attachments  drew  him  in  the  closing  years  of 
his  earthly  pilgrimage. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner,  as  a  believer  in  the  word  of  God, 


3Q1  INTKOitLCTluN. 

and  in  the  atonement  of  Christ,  possessed  a  most  satis- 
factory experience  and  faith.  He  was  a  man  of  the 
purest  evangelical  tj'pe.  Doiibtings  and  questionings  in 
the  presence  of  the  word  of  God  were  to  him  unknown. 
He  was  a  man  with  implicit  faith  in  Christ.  He  could 
say  with  wonderful  emphasis,  "  I  know  whom  I  have  be- 
lieved, and  am  persviaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that 
which  I  have  committed  unto  him  against  that  day." 
His  heart  responded  to  ever}-  claim  of  Christ,  and  his 
faith  was  built  alone  upon  the  word  of  God. 

As  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  stood 
preeminent  among  his  brethren.  Our  Church  has  had  in 
its  pulpits  no  such  voice  of  persuasive  sweetness  as  his. 
On  his  first  charges  he  won  the  hearts  of  hundreds  as  a 
preacher  of  surpassing  tenderness,  sweetness,  beaut}',  and 
power.  He  was  specificall}-  a  preacher  of  the  word.  He 
di.scoursed  upon  the  great  themes  of  the  gospel.  He 
spent  no  time  on  vague  and  fine  theories.  He  depended 
upon  no  dramatic  effedt  in  the  pulpit.  With  plain,  earnest 
truth  and  well  chosen  words,  he  illumined  the  minds  and 
softened  the  hearts  of  all  who  heard  him.  His  was  an 
eloquence  of  the  truth,  not  of  the  orator.  He  built  up  a 
sermon  as  a  pyramid  of  granite.  He  made  a  quotation  from 
the  Bible  mean  more  than  any  other  preacher  of  his  time. 
He  was  marvelously  uniform  in  his  pulpit  efforts.  He 
never  fell  below  the  dignity  and  rank  of  a  bishop  in  his 
sermons,  while  at  times  he  rose  to  sublime  strains  of 
eloquence.  In  a  school-house,  or  humble  church,  with 
a  few  dozen  persons,  he  was  as  interesting,  and  striking, 
and  instrudtive,  as  when  in  the  pulpit  before  hundreds 
of  entranced  hearers.  While  he  may  not  have  been 
unaffe<fted  by  circum.stance,  he  drew  his  inspiration 
direcfllj^  from  Christ  and  the  truth  he  proclaimed.     It  is 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 11 

exceedingly  fortunate  that  this  volume  should  contain  a 
number  of  the  sermons  and  sketches  of  sermons  of  the 
Bishop  as  prepared  and  used  by  him.  They  exhibit  the 
thoroughness,  clearness,  and  carefulness  of  his  pulpit 
preparation,  and  show  us  the  great  fields  of  truth  to 
which  he  delighted  most  to  turn.  But  the  printed  page 
cannot  reproduce  that  deep  and  sustained  earnestness,  the 
sharp  and  penetrating  eye,  the  eloquence  of  silently 
flowing  tears  of  tenderness,  sj'mpathy,  and  love,  the 
persuasive,  winsome  voice,  and  the  deep  pathos  which 
made  him  a  prince  of  preachers.  These  elements  can  re- 
main only  in  memor}-,  the  heritage  of  those  who  heard  him. 
As  a  superintendent  in  the  Church,  and  as  a  shepherd 
over  the  flock  of  God,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  a  model. 
Here  he  has  had  no  equal  in  the  Church.  Forty  years  he 
was  an  active  bishop  in  a  growing  church,  being  seledted 
to  this  its  highest  office  every  four  years  for  this  long 
term,  and  ever  with  increasing  esteem  and  confidence. 
He  died  in  the  office  he  was  so  often  chosen  to  fill.  Though 
intense  in  his  S3anpathy  for  the  Church,  loyal  to  its  every 
interest,  stridt  in  enforcing  discipline,  and  scrupulously 
jealous  of  every  interest  and  institution  of  the  Church 
he  loved,  he  was  yet  not  an  ecclesiastical  bigot.  Broad 
and  catholic  in  sentiment,  and  heart,  and  fellowship,  he 
cherished  the  purest  esteem  for  all  evangelical  churches 
and  Christians,  and  was  at  home  in  any  pulpit  to  which 
he  was  invited.  He  not  only  kept  abreast  of  the  times, 
but,  conservative  as  was  his  nature,  he  was  always  in 
the  front  rank  of  every  progressive  movement  of  the 
Church.  When  he  entered  the  ministry,  the  Church  had 
no  missionary  board,  no  foreign  missions,  no  church 
eredtion  society,  no  educational  institutions,  no  seminary 
or  college,  no  Sunday-school  system  or  literature,  and 


XIV  INTKOULCTION. 

no  printing  establishment.  He  saw  these  agencies  rise 
in  the  Church  one  after  another  in  the  progress  of  the 
j-ears.  He  helped  to  give  origin  to  these  institutions, 
and  fostered  them  and  loved  them  as  a  father  loves  his 
child.  Though  his  life  and  ministry  spanned  this  great 
era  of  progress,  and  growth,  and  new  methods,  the  day- 
he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus  no  man  had  a  3-ounger  heart  than 
he,  and  none  loved  the  advancing  interests  of  the  Church 
more  sincerel}-. 

Thus,  the  active  ministerial  life  of  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
covered  a  great  portion  of  the  most  interesting  period 
of  the  histor}^  of  the  Church.  His  name,  and  his 
thought,  and  his  toil,  are  linked  with  its  life  and 
progress  for  half  a  centur}-,  and  span  this  era  of  its 
mar\'elous  development  and  growth.  He  figured  con- 
spicuously in  the  discussions  of  the  great  questions 
which  have  agitated  the  Church  at  times  dviring  the  past 
half  century.  From  this  simple  facl  the  biography  here 
presented  has  ver}-  great  historical  value. 

While  the  memor}'  of  Bishop  (ilossbrenner  is  held  a 
sacred  treasure  to  many  personal  friends,  and  most  sacredly 
cherished  by  a  devoted  family  connedtion,  it  is  as  well  the 
rightful  heritage  of  the  Church  in  which  he  labored  so  long, 
and  which  he  loved  so  well.  He  used  to  say:  "In  the 
church  letme  live;  in  the  church  let  me  labor;  in  the  church 
let  me  die;  and  in  the  church,  and  b}-  the  church,  let  me  be 
buried."  His  message  was:  "Tell  the  brethren  all  is 
well;  my  home  is  over  there."  The  Church  has  a  wide 
and  undying  interest  in  his  life  thus  spent  in  its  service. 

It  is  a  worthy  crowning  of  a  life-long  friendship  of 
peculiar  endearment,  that  Brother  John  Dodds,  whose 
prai.se  is  in  all  the  churches,  should  so  diligently  and 
liberally  devote  his  attention  and  means  to  the  memory 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

of  his  friend  and  ours,  as  to  assume  all  financial  re- 
sponsibility in  the  gathering-  of  materials  and  the 
produdlion  of  this  testimonial  to  the  life  and  labors  of 
Bishop  Glossbrenner. 

Nothing  has  been  omitted  that  would  give  interest  and 
value  to  this  volume.  Two  splendid  steel  engravings  of 
the  Bishop  are  given.  The  frontispiece  presents  him  at 
the  age  of  about  seventy  years,  or  as  he  appeared  during 
the  last  term  of  his  service  as  bishop.  The  other  presents 
him  as  he  was  twenty-five  years  earlier,  when  in  the 
prime  and  vigor  of  life. 

Dr.  A.  W.  Drury,  the  author  of  this  volume,  by  the 
research  and  painstaking  investigation,  and  accuracy  of 
statement  of  fadl,  for  which  he  is  so  justl}^  noted,  has 
made  an  invaluable,  beautiful,  and  undjdng  contribution 
to  the  literature  of  our  Church,  and  of  the  country  as  well. 
He  has  woven  from  choicest  material  a  life  story  of  rarest 
interest.  He  has  reproduced  with  a  skillful  hand  in 
these  pages  a  life  of  imperishable  and  holy  fame. 

It  was  not  until  a  short  time  before  his  death  that 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  so  far  deferred  to  the  solicitations  of 
his  friends  as  to  consent  to  note  down  some  of  the  facts 
of  his  life  for  use  in  the  preparation  of  a  suitable  memoir. 
Of  the  limited  number  of  pages  that  he  wrote,  as  also  of 
accounts  furnished  bj^  his  intimate  friends,  the  author  has 
made  a  liberal  use. 

This  volume  needs  from  the  writer  no  commendation, 
either  as  it  relates  to  the  subjedt  or  the  author;  and  yet  it 
is  a  pleasing  task  to  snatch  from  a  busy  day  a  moment  to 
introduce  to  the  public,  and  to  coming  generations,  this 
faithful  portraiture  of  the  life  of  one  so  long  and  so  well 
beloved,  and  one  so  highh-  honored  in  the  church  of 
Christ  on  earth.  J.  W.  HoTT. 

February  i8,  1889. 


LIFE 


BISHOP  J.  J.  GLOSSBRENNER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Scope  Taken — Family — Training-  at  Home  and  at  School 
— Training  from  Life — Surroundings. 

The  life  of  every  man  has  primary  signifi- 
cance to  him  that  lives  it.  It  takes  an  added 
significance  when  it  becomes  a  factor  in  shaping 
other  lives.  It  rises  to  a  sublime  dignity  when  it 
devotes  itself  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  highest 
good  of  fellow-beings.  The  life  of  any  true  man, 
if  viewed  in  connection  with  the  purpose  and 
faith  which  have  inspired  and  sustained  it,  cannot 
fail  to  instruct  and  exalt.  In  the  case  of  Bishop 
Glossbrenner,  in  addition  to  the  interest  that  we 
have  in  him  as  an  individual  and  an  indefatiga- 
ble toiler,  we  are  led  to  view  him  as  representa- 
tive of  the  character  and  course  of  the  particular 
church  with  which  his  whole  Christian  life  was 

so  closely  identified.      This  broader  view  is  not 
a  17 


18  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

arbitrary,  but  natural  and  warranted  by  the  facts 
involved.  Yet  what  a  man  himself  has  done, 
and  more  particularly  what  he  has  been  and  what 
he  has  become,  must  furnish  the  center  point  and 
the  guiding  line  for  his  written  life. 

Bishop  J.  J.  Glossbrenner  was  born  in  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland,  July  24,  1812.  His  parents 
were  Peter  and  Christiana  Glossbrenner.  The 
founder  of  the  Glossbrenner  family  in  America 
was  John  Frederick,  who  landed  at  Philadelphia 
August  15,  1750.  He  subscribed  his  name  at 
that  time,  Johan  Friederich  Glassbrenner.  Like 
most  German  names,  the  name  Glassbrenner  had 
its  significance,  its  meaning  being  glassburner,  the 
one  on  whom  it  was  first  bestowed,  being  perhaps 
a  glass  annealer.  The  home  of  the  family  in 
Europe  was  in  Rhenish  Prussia.  A  satirist  by 
the  name  of  Adolf  Glassbrenner,  born  in  1810, 
attained  considerable  distinction  in  Prussia.  At 
least  two  Glossbrenner  families  outside  of  that 
founded  by  John  Frederick  Glossbrenner  became 
planted  in  America. 

John  Frederick  Glossbrenner  settled  in  Berks 
County,  Pennsylvania,  as  early  as  1769.  The 
names  Gottlieb,  Frederick,  Jacob  Frederick, 
Jacob,  and  Philip  appear  as  the  names  of  his 
sons,  all  of  whom  were  probably  born  in  America. 
After  the  death  of  John  Frederick  in  1788,  the 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  19 

family  separated,  some  of  the  members  going  to 
York  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  some  going 
further  west  and  after  awhile  finding  their  way 
to  Indiana.  Gottlieb,  the  oldest  son,  with  his  wife, 
Margaret,  and  their  family,  settled  at  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland.  The  name  Gottlieb  Glossbren- 
ner  appears  in  the  records  of  the  earliest  Lutheran 
Church  at  Hagerstown  as  a  devout  and  faithful 
member.  He  died  in  1804.  Eight  sons  and  four 
daughters  were  born  to  Gottlieb  and  Margaret 
Glossbrenner.  The  names  of  the  sons  were  John 
George,  John,  John  Gottlieb,  Abraham,  Frederick, 
Jacob,  Adam,  and  Peter.  John  Gottlieb  is  be- 
lieved to  have  gone  to  New  Orleans,  and  to  have 
there  died,  leaving  a  large  fortune.  Abraham, 
Adam,  and  Peter  married  at  Hagerstown  and  con- 
tinued to  reside  there.  The  other  members  of 
the  large  family  of  Gottlieb  Glossbrenner  rapidly 
disappeared. 

December  8,  1807,  Peter  Glossbrenner,  the 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  married 
to  Christiana  Shane  (Schon),  the  daughter  of 
HLenry  Shane,  the  keeper  of  a  tavern  in  Hagers- 
town. To  this  union  were  born  four  children, 
"William,  Jacob  Adam,  Jacob  John  and  Catharine 
Agatha.  In  the  baptismal  book  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  at  Hagerstown  the  names,  with  date  of 
birth  and  date  of  baptism,  of  all  of  the  children 


20  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

of  Peter  and  Christiana  Glossbrenner  are  found 
with  the  exception  of  that  of  Jacob  John.  This 
chasm  in  the  record  may  be  due  to  the  confusion 
brought  about  by  the  War  of  1812,  or  to  the 
fact  of  a  change  in  the  family  residence.  That  the 
baptism  of  Jacob  John  took  place  at  the  hands 
of  a  Lutheran  minister,  either  at  Hagerstown  or 
elsewhere,  in  infancy  or  early  childhood,  is  suf- 
ficiently attested.  He  was  probably  given  by  his 
parents  the  name  Jacob  John,  as  given  above, 
just  as  the  brother  next  older  was  given  the  name 
Jacob  Adam,  though  in  the  latter  case  the  name 
Jacob  was  later  placed  second  in  order.  The 
same  change  was  made  in  the  former  case  when 
both  names  were  given  in  full.  The  future  bishop 
was  known  as  a  boy  by  the  name  Jacob,  and 
sometimes  was  addressed  as  a  man  by  the  name 
Jacob  J.  Glossbrenner.  In  German  families  it  is 
common  to  find  the  same  name  given  to  more 
than  one  of  the  sons  in  the  same  family,  the  name 
repeated  generally  being  the  name  of  the  father 
or  the  father's  brother.  While  the  names  are 
bestowed  thus  freely,  one  of  the  names  is  often 
with  equal  freedom  dropped,  or  the  order  re- 
versed. The  absence  of  a  decisive  record  has  led 
to  doubt  and  conflicting  statement  as  to  the  year 
of  Jacob's  birth,  though  the  evidence  largely  pre- 
ponderates in  favor  of  1812  as  against  1813,  the 
year  formerly  accepted. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  21 

Peter  Glossbrenner  was  a  mechanic,  or  so  to 
speak,  a  manufacturer,  his  labor  being  bestowed 
on  the  manufacture,  on  his  own  account,  of  the 
wood  parts  of  carriages,  which  he  turned  over  to 
a  manufacturing  establishment  in  Hagerstown. 
He  was  industrious,  and  honored  his  trade,  and  it 
in  turn  honored  him.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1812,  serving  in  a  company  of  artillery, 
and  in  1814  took  part  in  the  successful  defense  of 
Baltimore  against  the  British.  The  Glossbren- 
ners  had  become  thoroughly  identified  with  the 
spirit  and  institutions  of  the  country  in  which 
their  lot  was  cast.  A  cousin  of  Peter  Glossbren- 
ner, also  named  Peter,  served  his  country  as  a 
soldier  in  the  hour  of  need,  Peter  Glossbrenner, 
with  his  family,  moved,  probably  in  1815,  to 
Montgomery  County,  Maryland,  where  he  re- 
mained about  two  years,  returning  on  the  death 
of  his  wife's  father.  After  receiving  the  share  in 
the  hotel  falling  to  his  wife,  he  proceeded  to  buy 
out,  one  by  one,  the  other  heirs.  The  property 
was  not  worth  more  than  about  one  thousand 
dollars,  and  there  were  as  many  heirs  as  there 
were  one  hundred  dollar  shares  in  the  property. 
He  built  a  shop  on  the  same  lot  with  the  hotel 
and  continued  to  ply  his  trade.  The  hotel  busi- 
ness, however,  was  not  entirely  relinquished.  The 
prospects  of  the  family,  considering  all  of  the  cir- 


22  LIFE    OF    r.LO.SSBRENNER. 

cumstances  belonging  to  life  at  that  early  day, 
were  bright  and  satisfying.  They  little  knew  the 
sad  events  that  awaited  them.  By  a  distressing 
accident  the  husband  and  father  was  taken  away 
from  his  family.  In  the  year  1819  Peter  Gloss- 
brenner  was  kicked  by  a  horse  and  died  within 
two  days.  The  widowed  mother  was  left  with  a 
family  of  four  children,  ranging  from  eleven  years 
to  one  year  of  age.  Jacob  was  in  his  seventh 
year.  The  property  bought  was  not  yet  half  paid 
for.  The  trial  and  struggle  brought  out  the  noble 
qualities  of  the  mother.  Ever  afterward,  and 
with  regularity,  the  name  of  Christiana  Gloss- 
brenner  appears  on  the  church  record  among  the 
names  of  communicants.  From  necessity  the 
sons  were  early  put  to  trades.  William  waa 
placed  in  a  cabinet-maker's  shop,  Adam  in  a 
printing  office,  and  later  Jacob  in  a  silversmith's 
shop.  The  mother  continued  to  make  payments 
on  the  property  purchased,  paying  out  on  an 
average  one  share  a  year,  just  as  her  husband  had 
begun  to  do.  The  children  did  what  they  could 
for  the  support  of  the  family,  the  sons,  in  after 
years,  relinquishing  in  favor  of  their  mother  all 
claim  that  they  might  have  had  in  the  property 
secured. 

But  the  moral  and  intellectual  training  of  the 
orphan    children  was  of  the  highest  importance, 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  23 

and  must  here  receive  our  special  attention. 
Peter  Glossbrenner  had  been  traditionally,  rather 
than  actively,  connected  with  the  Lutheran 
Church.  He  bore  a  reputation  for  honesty  and 
solid  qualities.  He  was  firm,  but  kind  toward 
his  children.  He  was  strict  in  the  requirement 
that  they  should  be  regular  in  attendance  at  the 
Sabbath-school.  At  this  time  Sabbath-schools 
were  in  their  infancy.  But  the  Lutheran  Church 
at  Hagerstown  was  fortunate  in  having  as  its  pas- 
tor, for  a  period  of  sixteen  years,  from  1815  to 
1831,  such  an  active,  evangelical  minister  as  Dr. 
Benjamin  Kurtz.  Dr.  Kurtz  had  strong  convic- 
tions as  to  the  possibility  and  duty  of  bringing  up 
children  in  an  intelligent,  godly  way.  By  tongue 
and  pen  he  sought  to  direct  and  stimulate  the 
moral  and  religious  education  of  the  children  of 
the  church,  and  of  course  was  a  sincere  and  active 
friend  of  Sabbath-schools.  Bishop  Glossbrenner, 
in  after  years,  confessed  to  the  salutary  influence 
of  this  pious,  scholarly,  and  wise-hearted  man. 
It  was  doubtless  largely  due  to  his  influence  that 
the  church  at  Hagerstown  assumed  such  an  evan- 
gelical and  earnest  character.  It  was  in  Hagers- 
town in  1820,  and  largely  under  the  influence  and 
leadership  of  Dr.  D.  B.  Kurtz,  the  friend  of 
Otterbein,  and  Dr.  Benjamin  Kurtz,  that  the 
General  Synod  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  other- 


24  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

wise  known  as  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  body, 
was  constituted.  Christiana  Glossbrenner  was 
accustomed  to  lead  her  children  to  the  services 
of  the  church.  Parents  at  that  time  were  not 
accustomed  to  attend  Sabbath-school.  She  sought 
to  bring  her  children  up  in  a  moral  and  industri- 
ous way,  "  so  that  they  would  not  bring  discredit 
upon  the  name  of  Glossbrenner."  She  was  a 
woman  of  cheerful  disposition,  was  patient  under 
hardship,  and  was  noted  for  her  industry  and  per- 
severance. After  living  a  widow  for  a  number 
of  years,  she  was  married  in  1828  to  a  Mr.  David 
Dasher.  She  died  at  York,  Pennsylvania,  at  the 
home  of  her  son  Adam,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-four. 

The  secular  education  of  the  children  of  Peter 
and  Christiana  Glossbrenner  was  limited  in  quan- 
tity, but  for  the  time  and  for  the  circumstances 
ot  the  family,  was  fair  in  quality.  The  children 
iirst  attended  a  private  school  taught  by  a  Mr. 
Ricksecker.  Mr.  Ricksecker  was  a  Lutheran, 
and  the  school,  while  not  sectarian,  was  largely 
under  the  patronage  of  Lutherans.  Dr.  Kurtz 
often  came  into  the  school  to  inquire  how  the 
children  were  getting  along,  and  to  direct  and 
encourage  in  the  work  of  their  education.  Mr. 
Kicksecker,  while  an  inconsiderable  scholar,  took 
great  delight  in  his  pupils  and  seemed  to  have  the 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  2S 

happy  ability  to  awaken  and  stimulate  them  by 
Hving,  sympathetic  contact.  One  of  his  methods 
was  to  read  something  to  his  pupils  and  then  to 
have  them  rehearse  the  same  in  their  own  lan- 
guage, a  method  showing  real  wisdom  and  a 
generous,  devoted  disposition.  Years  afterward, 
going  into  the  office  of  a  newspaper,  of  which 
one  of  his  pupils  was  editor,  he  accosted  the 
editor  with  the  words,  "You  do  the  writing 
here  ?"  Receiving  an  affirmative  answer,  he 
replied  with  evident  satisfaction,  "  I  taught 
you  your  letters."  While  in  Mr.  Ricksecker's 
school,  Jacob  Glossbrenner  was  apt  and  studious. 
In  some  things  he  excelled,  but  he  welcomed  the 
help  of  his  fellow-pupils  in  "  doing  his  sums." 

From  the  school  of  Mr.  Ricksecker  the  children 
of  Christiana  Glossbrenner  went  to  the  school  of 
John  E.  Hotiman.  Mr.  Hoffman  was  a  much 
better  scholar  and  was  better  furnished  as  a 
teacher  than  Mr.  Ricksecker.  His  school,  while 
likewise  not  sectarian,  sustained  Reformed  con- 
nections. In  his  work  in  the  school-room  he  in- 
cluded exercises  in  mental  arithmetic,  which  at 
that  time  were  quite  uncommon,  and  showed  that 
the  teacher  was  not  dependent  on  a  mere  practiced 
rote.  It  was  this  school-teacher  who  changed  the 
spelling  of  the  family  name  from  Glassbrenner  to 
Glossbrenner.     Speaking  of  Bishop  Glossbrenner, 


26  LITE    OF    GLOSSBRENNBR. 

Bishop  Weaver  has  said :  "  The  power  of  concen- 
tration, which  is  the  master- wheel  in  the  minds  of 
the  most  scholarly  men,  was  strongly  developed 
in  his  mind.  How  he  acquired  this  wonderful 
power  we  may  never  know."  May  it  not  be  that 
the  natural  methods  and  the  direct  contact  of 
these  early  teachers,  the  only  teachers  he  ever 
had,  may  furnish  at  least  a  part  of  the  desired 
answer  ? 

When  fourteen  years  of  age  Jacob  Glossbren- 
ner's  schooling  was  brought  to  a  close  by  the 
necessity,  or  the  supposed  prudent  requirement, 
that  he  should  learn  a  trade.  While  going  to 
school  he  had  been  a  part  of  the  time  working 
for  board  and  clothes.  His  education  in  school 
was  confined  to  what  he  received  in  the  short 
terms  of  private  school  between  his  ninth  and 
fourteenth  years.  He  received  instruction  in 
nothing  outside  of  the  common  branches.  He 
now  began  to  learn  the  silversmith  and  watch- 
making trade  with  Mr.  Arthur  Johnson,  of 
Hagerstown.  He  remained  with  him  about  two 
years.  He  afterward  pursued  his  trade  for  a 
short  time  with  Mr.  John  Reynolds,  also  of 
Hagerstown.  Mr.  Reynolds  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  and  was  noted  for  his 
sincere  and  earnest  piety.  The  associates  of  the 
young  apprentice  were  young  people  of  a  respected 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  27 

and  self-respecting  class.  A  considerable  number 
of  them  came  to  be  honored  and  substantial 
citizens.  One  of  them,  who  is  still  living,  speaks 
of  Jacob  as  a  "grand  boy."  Others  speak  with 
great  tenderness  of  his  warm-hearted  and  faithful 
friendship. 

We  may  now  notice  some  of  the  other  members 
of  the  family.  William,  the  oldest  brother,  died 
when  about  thirteen  years  of  age.  Adam  J. 
Glossbrenner  was  apprenticed  when  nine  years 
of  age  to  learn  the  printing  business.  By  his 
indenture  he  was  to  receive  several  months  of 
schooling  each  year.  When  he  reached  the  age 
of  seventeen,  he  became  foreman  and  manager 
of  the  Ohio  Monitor,  published  at  Columbus, 
Ohio.  A  year  later  he  held  a  similar  position  on 
the  Western  Telegraph,  published  at  Hamilton, 
Ohio.  He  soon  afterward  settled  at  York, 
Pennsylvania,  where,  as  editor  and  proprietor  of 
a  paper,  many  years  of  his  life  were  spent.  In 
1847  he  was  elected  sergeant-at-arms  of  the 
National  House  of  Representatives,  and  was  re- 
elected to  four  successive  congresses.  He  after- 
ward served  two  terms  as  a  member  of  the 
ISTational  House  of  Representatives.  Of  late  years 
he  has  made  Philadelphia  his  home.  Catharine 
Glossbrenner  was  married  to  a  Mr.  Andrews. 
She  died  about  1848. 


28  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Hagerstown,  the  home  of  the  Glossbrenner 
family,  was  founded  in  1762,  and  Avas  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  important  towns  in  western 
Maryhuid.  It  was  then  as  now  the  county- 
seat  of  Washington  County.  The  country  about 
is  hilly  and  romantic,  forming  a  part  of  the  beau- 
tiful Cumberland  Valley.  ^Man}^  Germans  at  an 
early  day  settled  in  Washington  County,  but  the 
English  population,  always  outnumbering  the 
German,  brought  about  a  rapid  transition  of  the 
German  element  to  the  English  language  and  to 
English  customs.  The  mother  of  Jacob  Gloss- 
brenner could  speak  the  German  language 
fairly  well,  but  the  father  spoke  it  with 
greater  difficulty.  He  himself  acquired  httle 
knowledge  of  the  German  from  his  parents.  The 
Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches  were  early 
established  in  Hagerstown,  and  soon  after  1800 
the  United  Brethren  began  to  pay  regular  visits 
to  that  place.  Hagerstown,  though  early  in  the 
century  noted  for  its  levity  and  irreligion,  after- 
ward came  to  share  with  all  of  the  other  parts  of 
"Washington  County  in  the  manifestation  of  alarge 
measure  of  religious  enthusiasm  and  activity. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Conversion — Joins  the  United  Brethren  Church — Class 
Leader  —  Exhorter  —  Preacher  —  Preparation  for  the 
Work. 

Up  to  his  twelfth  year  Jacob  Glossbrenner  was 
a  regular  attendant  of  the  services  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  He  was  much  impressed  by  the  earnest 
sermons  of  the  pastor,  Dr.  Benjamin  Kurtz.  He 
was  specially  impressed  by  the  distinctness  and 
earnestness  with  which  the  doctrine  of  a  change 
of  heart  was  presented.  He  afterward  became 
less  concerned  and  less  regular  in  his  attendance 
at  church.  After  he  went  to  his  trade  he  mingled 
with  gay  associates  and  "went  far  from  God."  He 
was  a  bright  boy,  well  liked,  and  strictly  moral, 
but  the  claims  of  God  were  largely  forgotten.  It 
is  well  that  there  are  some  persons  who  become 
distinguished  for  piety, — many  indeed  there  are, — 
who  have  not  in  the  first  place  trampled  upon 
their  manhood  and  contaminated  by  their  vices 
the  lives  of  others. 

In  his  seventeenth  year,  while  learning  his  trade 
with  Mr.  Reynolds,  he  became  awakened  on  the 
subject  of  religion  under  the  preaching  of  a 
Methodist  minister  by   the  name  of  Gibbons,   but 

29 


30  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNEK. 

was  not  at  that  time  converted.  His  convei*sion 
occurred  several  months  hiter  at  a  meeting  held  bj 
Rev.  Wm.  R.  Rhinehart,  a  minister  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church.  Mr.  Rhinehart  was  serving 
his  first  charge  under  a  regular  appointment  from 
the  conference,  having  been  ordained  in  1829  and 
at  the  same  time  elected  as  a  presiding  elder.  He 
was  also  doing  the  regular  work  of  an  itinerant. 
He  had  become  a  member  of  the  conference  in 
1825,  and  while  not  traveling  regularly,  had 
rendered  efficient  assistance  in  many  special 
meetings.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  physique, 
powerful  voice,  and  unusual  preaching  talent. 
He  liad  tremendous  energy  in  exhortation.  He 
attracted  attention  everywhere  by  his  wonderful 
power  as  a  singer.  In  his  preaching  and  in  his 
methods  he  was  bold,  thorough,  and  unsparing. 

In  the  course  of  the  meeting  held  by  him  at 
Hagerstown,  young  Glossbrenner,  while  inter- 
ested, raised  objections  to  the  requirements  urged 
and  the  methods  used.  He,  with  some  of  his 
intimate  young  friends,  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Rhinehart,  signing  themselves  John  Paul,  or  some 
such  fictitious  name.  They  stated  their  objections, 
specially  naming  the  "  mourners'  bench,"  and  ask- 
ing Mr.  Rhinehart  publicly  to  meet  the  same.  He 
gave  a  sweeping  reply  from  the  pulpit.  Afterward 
learning  that  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  the  leader  of 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNBR.  31 

the  company,  he  labored  with  him  privately  and 
succeeded  in  leading  him  to  the  altar  and  to 
Christ.  His  young  associates  followed  his 
example,  and  were  likewise  converted. 

It  is  easy  for  us,  in  following  his  life,  to 
pass  hastily  over  the  fact  of  his  conversion.  To 
him  the  event  meant  everything  of  joy  and  hope. 
It  was  not  a  mere  turning  about  or  taking  the 
course  that  sober  reflection  enjoined.  It  was  a 
new  creation ;  it  was  the  opening  of  a  fountain  in 
the  heart  that  never  ceased  to  send  forth  its 
streams.  It  was  the  evoking  of  a  song  in  the 
soul  that  sent  forth  unceasing  melody.  It  was 
a  new,  conscious  experience,  a  taking  hold  upon  a 
new  destiny.  His  own  words,  written  after  his 
race  was  nearly  completed,  were :  "After  exercis- 
ing faith  in  Christ  as  my  personal  Savior  I  was 
enabled  to  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory."  He  did  not  hesitate  to  use  the  language, 
"  to  get  religion,"  and  to  urge  it  as  conveying  a 
definite  sense  and  as  expressive  of  the  privilege 
and  duty  of  all.  Some  urge  the  practice  of 
religion  at  the  expense  of  the  thought  given  in 
the  well-worn  words,  "  to  enjoy  religion."  With- 
out disparaging  the  former,  how  much  better  is 
it,  in  order  to  bear  one's  own  burden,  and  help 
those  who  are  without  aim,  faith,  or  comfort,  if  in 
addition  to  correct  practice,  the  heart  is  filled  with 


32  LIFE    OF    (iLOSSBRENNER. 

"joy  unspeakable."  The  great  facts  at  the  basis  of 
evangelical  religion  in  all  the  ages,  and  that 
are  foremost  in  the  experiences  and  labors  of 
our  times — repentance  for  sin  and  assurance 
of  salvation  through  faith  in  Christ — were 
experienced  by  him  in  their  profoundest  mean- 
ing, and  became  the  creed  and  keynote  of  his 
life  work. 

His  conversion  may  with  probability  be  placed 
in  the  winter  of  1829-30.  Having  found  Christ,  he 
now  united  with  the  church.  Religion  is  social 
as  well  as  personal.  Among  those  who  were 
converted  at  the  same  time  with  himself  and 
subsequently  with  him  united  with  the  church, 
were  J.  M.  Hershey,  afterward  an  honored 
minister,  Samuel  Rhinehart,  and  "Wm.  Nowell. 
Among  those  who  came  forward  as  applicants  for 
membership  at  the  same  time,  was  a  young  man 
named  George  Huzza.  "When  the  question  was 
asked,  "Are  there  any  reasons  why  the  applicants 
should  not  be  received?"  an  old  member  of  the 
church,  a  farmer,  rose  and  objected  to  the  recep- 
tion of  Huzza.  He  said  that  Huzza  had  bound 
grain  for  him,  and  that  he  was  too  lazy  to  bind 
his  sheaves  well,  and  that  such  a  person  could 
not  be  a  good  Christian.  Mr.  Rhinehart,  who 
was  officiating,  ruled  that  the  objection  was  not 
relevant,  and  Huzza  was  received.     Yet  the  old 


LIFE    OF    aLOSSBRENNER.  33 

brother's  judgment  of  character  was  justified  by 
subsequent  occurrences.  Huzza  soon  fell  into 
sin  and  afterward  was  arrested  for  robbing  the 
mails.  Mr.  Glossbrenner  may  have  gathered 
instruction  from  the  incident;  for  throughout  his 
life,  while  not  derogating  from  the  grace  of  God, 
he  laid  great  stress,  in  his  relations  with  ministers, 
on  natural,  inward  honesty  and  responsibility. 
Persons  having  this  foundation  could,  when 
saved  themselves,  be  useful  in  saving  others. 
Those  defective  in  this  important  respect  might 
be  cared  for  as  sheep,  but  could  not  fill  the  place 
of  trusted  shepherds. 

At  the  time  when  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  con- 
verted there  was  wide-spread  religious  interest 
in  western  Maryland.  Washington  County,  the 
county  in  which  Hagerstown  was  situated, 
furnished  the  center  of  this  interest.  Dr.  Benjamin 
Kurtz  was  still  the  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  Hagerstown,  and  preached  at  many  places  in  the 
surrounding  country.  Hundreds  were  converted 
in  protracted  meetings  and  camp-meetings  held 
by  the  Methodists.  Among  the  United  Brethren 
there  was  more  active  effort,  more  revival 
influence,  and  more  denominational  success 
than  at  any  previous  period.  Washington  County 
was  the  home  of  George  A.  Geeting,  sen.,  and 
Christian   Newcomer.      Here   Otterbein's   labors 


34  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

had  early  been  bestowed.      Here  was  Autietam, 
where  the  great  meetings  were  held. 

!N^ewcomer's  field  lay  largely  in  Frederick 
County,  and  formed  what  was  called  Frederick 
Circuit,  or  j^ewcomer's  Circuit.  The  basis  for 
Geeting's  work  was  Antietam,  now  Keedysville, 
includins;  also  after  a  time  Ilaoerstown.  The 
outgrowth  of  his  labors  was  Ilagerstown  Circuit. 
The  first  United  Brethren  church  in  Ilagerstown, 
a  two-story  log  structure,  with  the  audience  room 
above,  was  occupied  for  the  first  time  May  24, 
1805,  Geeting  preaching  the  first  sermon.  In 
1807  both  Geeting  and  Newcomer  ceased  to 
confine  themselves  to  the  particular  fields  named, 
and  Hai^erstown  Circuit  and  Frederick  Circuit 
were  freely  served  by  various  preachers  under  the 
appointment  of  the  conference.  Ilagerstown 
Circuit  was  far  the  more  fixed.  Frederick  Circuit 
was  sometimes  merged  in  it,  \vas  sometimes  con- 
nected with  some  other  work,  and  again  at  times 
maintained  its  distinct  character.  A  new  brick 
church  was  built  at  Ilagerstown  in  1810  ou  the 
site  occupied  by  the  present  church.  It  was  in 
this  house  that  Mr.  Glossbrenuer  was  converted 
and  united  with  the  church.  In  1827  and  1828 
Rev.  John  Zahn  was  the  preacher  on  Ilagerstown 
Circuit.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  presence,  great 
spiritual  energy,  and  native  preaching  talent.     In 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  35 

his  term  of  service  there  was  great  progress,  and 
the  United  Brethren  congregation  must  have 
^•rown  greatly  in  esteem  among  the  citizens  of 
Hagerstown.  While  there  are  no  records  showing 
who  the  preacher  was  in  the  year  1829,  it  is  quite 
probable  that  the  preacher  in  immediate  charge 
during  this  year  was  Rev.  John  Krack,  who 
certainly  had  charge  of  Hagerstown  Circuit  in 
1830.  It  is  also  probable  that  during  1830,  as 
well  as  1829,  Rev.  Wm.  R.  Rhinehart  was  the 
presiding  elder.  Rev.  John  Krack  was  a  favorite 
as  a  preacher  and  as  a  pastor.  Beginning  with 
1831  he  served  the  old  Otterbein  congregation  in 
Baltimore,  remaining  four  years.  So  general  was 
the  desire  for  his  continued  service  that  his 
removal  by  the  conference  well-nigh  produced 
schism  and  revolt.  In  1830  Hagerstown  Circuit 
was  more  than  twice  as  strong  as  any  other 
charge  in  the  conference. 

Taking  all  of  these  things  into  account  we  see 
what  was  the  situation  of  things  when  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  became  a  member  of  the  Church. 
They  may  aid  us  in  understanding  the  reasons 
for  his  connecting  himself  with  the  church  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ.  It  would  seem 
natural  that  he  should  connect  himself  with  the 
Lutheran  Church,  the  church  of  his  fathers, 
especially  in  view  of  the  influence  of  such  a  man 


36  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

as  Dr.  Benjamin  Kurtz.  Yet  he  felt  the  need  of 
more  freedom  than  the  Lutheran  Church  would 
afford.  While  there  was  a  revival  element  in  the 
Lutheran  Churcli,  there  yet  were  diverse  and 
opposing  elements.  This  would  be  inevitable 
from  the  composition  and  traditions  of  the  church. 
Rev.  Wm.  R.  Rhinehart  was  converted  in  a 
revival  in  the  Lutheran  Church;  yet  when  he 
went  to  the  meeting  of  the  synod,  expecting  to 
enter  the  ministry  of  that  church,  he  was  chilled 
and  turned  away  by  the  formal  piety,  and 
opposition  to  revivals  characterizing  a  large 
party  in  the  synod.  Though  Mr.  Glossbrenner 
was  a  boy  in  years,  he  reached  his  conclusions 
by  the  awakened  reason  and  elective  instincts  of 
mature  years.  His  connection  with  the  United 
Brethren  Church  was  not  the  result  of  accident  but 
of  choice;  not  the  choice  of  calculation,  but  of  pref- 
erence. His  decision  may  not  have  been  the 
right  decision  for  all  in  like  circumstances,  but 
no  one  can  doubt  that  it  was  the  right  one  for 
him.  There  was  just  enough  of  opposing  influence 
to  make  decision  necessary,  and  the  decision  then 
declared  never  afterward  came  up  for  review  or 
reversal;  never  came  up  to  vex,  weaken,  and 
defeat.  This  carefulness  in  reaching  conclu- 
sions and  constancy  afterward  was  thoroughly 
characteristic. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER,  87 

His  first  work  after  becoming  connected  with 
the  church  was  to  serve  as  leader  of  a  band  of 
young  persons  about  his  own  age.  This  was 
soon  after  he  united  with  the  church.  In  after 
years,  in  looking  back  to  the  meetings  then 
held,  he  said:  "We  had  glorious  times  when  in 
our  simplicity  and  singleness  of  heart  we  met 
together  to  sing  and  pray  and  encourage  one 
another.  The  Lord  met  with  us  and  filled  us 
unutterably  full  of  glory  and  of  God."  The  class 
met  once  a  week  and  the  meetings  were  well 
attended.  The  young  leader  was  deeply  impressed 
with  the  responsibility  of  his  position,  and  was 
thus  led  to  devote  himself  earnestly  to  the  study 
of  God's  word.  Day  and  night  it  was  his 
meditation.  As  he  applied  the  Scriptures  to 
the  instruction  of  others,  he  was  himself  greatly 
instructed  and  benefited.  Throughout  life  he 
recognized  the  great  advantage  gained  by  this 
early  and  devoted  study  of  the  Bible.  He  felt  to 
rebuke  the  sloth  of  those  who  do  not  give  careful 
study  to  the  Bible.  Ignorance  of  God's  word 
and  mutilated  quotations  he  regarded  as  a  just 
ground  of  reproach. 

Not  long  after  his  appointment  as  a  leader, 
while  at  a  camp-meeting  in  "Washington  County, 
Rev.  George  A.  Geeting,  without  any  solicitation 
or  even  expectation  on  his  part,  handed  him  a 


38  LIFE    OF    GLOtfSBRENNER. 

license  to  exhort.  He  was  told  to  be  faithful  as 
an  exhorter,  and  that  as  he  had  opportunity,  and 
as  it  was  agreeable  to  the  older  brethren,  he 
might  also  ])reach.  In  tliat  period  many  who 
became  eminent  as  preachers  began  their  work  as 
exhorters.  The  license  to  exliort  meant  labor  in 
varied  forms — in  class  and  prayer- meetings,  iu 
closing  meetings  after  the  sermons  of  the  regular 
itinerants,  and  in  their  absence  to  till  their  place. 
Such  a.  license  could  be  given  by  a  quarterly 
conference  or  by  two  ordained  elders  at  any 
special  meeting.  Rev.  George  A.  Geeting,  while 
not  often  chosen  presiding  elder,  held  a  sort  of 
standing  commission  to  the  functions  of  the  office 
by  the  deference  in  which  he  was  held  and  by 
the  demand  for  his  presence  and  service.  He  was 
a  son  of  Rev.  George  A.  Geeting,  the  friend  and 
associate  of  Otterbein,  and  lived  at  the  place  of 
his  father  on  the  Antietam.  lie  was  regularly 
and  actively  engaged  as  a  preacher  ten  or  twelve 
years.  Even  when  not  under  any  appointment 
from  the  conference,  lie  continued  zealously  to 
labor  till  the  time  of  his  deatii  in  1842. 

No  one  need  be  offended  or  disquieted  at  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  led  to  assume 
sacred  functions  without  himself  first  announcing 
that  he  was  moved  thereto  by  an  inward  call. 
The  church  is  vouchsafed  the  prompting  of  the 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRE^KEK.  39 

Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  is  the  candidate.  In- the 
United  Brethren  Church,  in  early  days,  many 
who  became  eminent  for  their  usefulness  were 
given  license  without  themselves  expecting  any 
such  thing.  John  Knox,  the  Scotch  reformer, 
was  thus  chosen.  The  book  of  Acts  tells  us  that 
as  "  certain  prophets  and  teachers  "  "  ministered 
to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the  Holy  Ghost  said, 
Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work 
whereunto  I  have  called  them."  May  not  the 
dearth  of  ministers,  so  often  deplored,  be  in  large 
measure  due  to  the  fact  that  the  church  to  so  great 
an  extent  neglects  the  gift  that  is  in  it? 

This  license  was  the  authority  on  which  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  continued  to  exhort  and  preach 
for  the  period  of  one  year,  from  the  spring  of 
1830  to  the  spring  of  1831.  He  does  not  seem 
to  have  questioned  the  judgment  or  right  of  his 
brethren  in  giving  him  license.  He  was  diligent 
and  active  in  the  work  committed  to  him.  Rev. 
John  Krack,  who  was  serving  Hagerstown  Cir- 
cuit, took  him  much  with  him,  and  was  quite 
authoritative  and  firm  in  his  requirements,  but 
withal  considerate  and  discreet.  A  young  man 
was  not  asked  where  or  when  it  would  suit  him 
to  preach,  or  what  part  of  the  service  he  would 
take;  but  his  work  was  assigned  him,  and  to 
resist   was   to   resist  at   his    peril.      Hagerstown 


40  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Circuit  then  embraced  "Wnsliing-tou  and  Frederick 
counties  in  Maryland,  and  Franklin  County  ia 
Pennsylvania.  He  once  accompanied  Mr.  Krack 
to  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  asked  to 
go  into  the  pulpit  and  exhort.  Though  he  had 
previousl}''  preached  and  often  exhorted,  this  was 
the  first  time  that  he  occupied  a  pulpit  to  talk  to 
the  people.  He  entered  the  pulpit  with  fear  and 
trembling,  feeling  that  he  was  unworthy  to  occupy 
so  holy  a  place.  The  church  building  was  a  small 
stone  structure  with  a  heavy  and  capacious,  though 
not  high,  pulpit,  which  was  often  occupied  by  as 
solid  a  bench  of  preachers  as  that  day  aflbrded. 

During  the  year  Mr.  Glossbrenner  frequently 
preached  to  the  colored  people  of  Hagcrstown 
and  to  the  inmates  of  the  poor-house.  He  also 
preached  at  State  Line,  at  Greencastle,  and  at  the 
house  of  Henry  Burtner  near  Leitersburg.  At 
one  time  he,  with  several  older  ministers,  went 
out  a  few  miles  from  Hagcrstown  to  a  place 
where  an  appointment  was  to  be  filled.  The  older 
ministers  put  up  Mr.  Glossbrenner  to  preach. 
The  people  felt  that  it  was  a  shame  to  put  up 
"a  little  boy"  when  there  were  older  ministers 
present. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  soon  came  to  be  pointed  to 
with  a  degree  of  }>ri(le  as  the  "boy  preacher." 
When   he  received    license    he  was  just  entering 


V 


LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  41 

upon  his  nineteenth  year.  He  was  even  more 
youthful  in  his  appearance  than  would  be  in- 
ferred from  his  years.  His  countenance  was 
bright  and  open,  lit  up  with  the  light  that  glowed 
within.  While  always  modest  and  reserved,  he 
was  not  timid,  and  had  a  remarkable  degree  of 
self-composure.  His  real  strength  at  this  time, 
as  largely  through  life,  was  in  his  tenderness  of 
heart,  and  earnest,  fervid  nature.  He  loved  the 
Savior,  and  he  was  confident  of  the  love  of  the 
Savior  toward  him.  What  he  experienced  for 
himself  he  was  anxious  for  others  also  to  enjoy. 
He  had  an  extremely  realistic  conception  of 
the  great  facts  in  man's  condition,  and  the 
diverse  destinies  toward  which  men  tend.  He 
would  "  cry  and  preach  and  preach  and  cry."  Xet 
his  intent  study  of  the  Scriptures  indicates  that 
his  emotional  nature  was  moved  and  supported 
by  a  grasp  upon  eternal  truth.  !N^otwithstanding 
his  unusual  success  and  the  encouragements  that 
came  to  hira,  he  was  not  saved  from  the  dis- 
appointments and  even  despair  that  fall  to  almost 
all  who  enter  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry.  In 
these  experiences  he  sought  counsel  and  support 
from  his  seniors  in  the  work. 

When  he  received  license  his  course  for  the 
time  being  was  decided  for  him.  There  was  no 
demand,  however,  for  any  particular  amount  of 


42  LIFE    OF    (ILOSSBREXNER. 

liis  time;  uor  avus  lie  Avithdrawn  from  whatever 
his  occupation  might  be.  It  was  now  lu'ccssaiy 
for  him  to  decide  for  himself  what  his  life  work 
should  be.  He  felt  that  he  was  called  of  God 
to  the  work  of  the  ministr}' .  He  counseled  with 
others  and  communed  with  his  own  heart.  At 
one  time  he  proposed  to  a  young  associate  that 
they  make  their  own  appointments,  and  preach 
and  travel  on  the  Lorenzo  Dow  plan.  This  would 
mean,  in  the  phrase  of  our  day,  to  travel  as 
evangelists.  For  a  time  he  assisted  in  holding 
union  prayer-meetings.  At  diiterent  places  God 
had  blessed  his  labors  in  exhortation  and  preacli- 
ing  to  the  conversion  of  souls.  The  sweets  of 
success  in  Christian  woik  moved  him  to  give 
himself  in  the  fullest  and  freest  manner  to  the 
work  of  the  Master.  He  also  came  to  a  clear 
inward  and  fixed  conviction  of  his  call  to  preach 
the  gospeh  This  conviction,  with  the  decision  to 
follow  it,  passed  into  the  realm  of  the  unques- 
tioned and  forever  settled. 

(Soon  after  he  began  to  exercise  in  public.  Dr. 
Benjamin  Kurtz  visited  him  and  offered  to  put 
within  his  reach  a  collegiate  education  and  a 
thorough  preparation  for  the  ministry.  It  was 
undei:stood  that  his  hibors  should  be  given  to  the 
ministry  in  the  Lutheran  Church.  He  appreciated 
the  offer  of  an  education,  but  he  felt  that  it  would 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  43 

be  improper  to  leave  those  who  had  shown  such 
care  for  his  well-being,  and  to  whom  he  stood 
bound  by  the  closest  ties.  Likewise  he  believed 
that  one  called  to  the  ministry  should  go  forth 
immediately.  lie  also  shared,  to  a  certain  extent, 
the  prejudice  of  those  among  whom  he  moved 
against  "  college-bred  preachers."  The  prejudice 
was  due  to  the  close  association  of  education  and 
cold  formality  in  the  ministry  of  some  of  the  old 
churches.  As  time  passed  he  changed  his  mind 
quite  largely  on  the  subject  of  ministerial  educa- 
tion, especially  in  view  of  changed  times;  but  he 
never  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  coursia  that 
he  took  was  not  the  right  course  for  him  at  the 
time  and  in  the  circumstances  to  take. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Attends  Virginia  Conference — The  Field — The  Session — 
Joins  Conference — Sent  to  Hagerstown  Circuit — Year 
of  Success  —  Elements  as  a  Preacher — Conference  of 
1832 — Staunton  Circuit — Itinerants'  Home — ISIarriage 
— Conference  of  1833  — Ordained —  Returned  to  Staun- 
ton Circuit. 

Apkil  24,  1831  found  Mr.  Glossbrenner,  in 
company  with  Rev.  Wm.  R.  Rhinehart,  on  his 
way  to  Mill  Creek,  Shenandoah  County,  Virginia, 
where  Virginia  Conference  was  to  hold  its  first 
separate  session.  All  questions  had  been  settled. 
The  last,  and  perhaps  not  the  least  difficult,  was 
settled  by  some  good  brethren,  among  whom  were 
the  Hersheys,  of  Hagerstown,  and  the  Doups  and 
Staleys,  of  Frederick  County,  who  purchased  him 
an  outfit — horse,  saddle,  bridle,  and  saddle  bags 
— the  property  of  a  deceased  Methodist  preacher. 
Does  anyone  suppose  that  they  ever  regretted  this 
generous  deed?  When  he  started  on  horseback 
to  the  conference,  he  took'  with  him  all  that  he 
possessed.  When  he  put  the  Potomac  River 
between  himself  and  his  old  home  and  began  to 
ascend  the  grand  valley  of  Virginia,  he  felt  that 
a  new  hope  and  a  new  course  were  before  him. 

44 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  45 

Prior  to  1829  there  were  but  four  conferences  in 
the  ITnited  Brethren  Church — Miami,  Scioto, 
Muskingum,  and  the  old  conference  in  the  East. 
The  General  Conference  of  1829  authorized  the 
division  of  Miami  Conference,  and  also  of  the 
old  conference  in  the  East.  All  of  the  ministers 
belonging  to  the  latter,  however,  met  together 
once  more  in  1830.  In  the  division,  the  one  side 
was  called  the  Hagerstown  and  the  other  the 
Harrisburg  District;  but  after  four  years  the 
names,  Virginia  Conference  and  Pennsylvania 
Conference,  appear.  Up  to  1837  Frederick 
County,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  division, 
belonged  to  Pennsylvania  Conference,  but  it  was 
practicall}'  retained  from  the  first  by  Virginia 
Conference.  Pennsylvania  Conference,  as  con- 
stituted, was  about  one  third  stronger  than 
Virginia  Conference,  and  inherited  a  field  more 
favorable  for  cultivation  and  extension.  The 
antiquity  of  the  old  conference  was  sliced  length- 
wise, as  Virginia  Conference  held  Washington 
County,  and,  in  fact,  also  Frederick  County, 
in  Maryland,  while  Pennsylvania  Conference 
received  Baltimore.  Outside  of  Maryland  the 
only  territory  of  Virginia  Conference  was  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  in  Virginia. 

Between  1820  and  1830  the  German  and  the 
Englishjanguages  stood  on  about  the  same  foot- 


46  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

ing,  but  after  1830  and  1831,  in  the  United 
Brethren  Church  both  east  and  west,  the 
English  language  rapidly  supplanted  the  Gernuni. 
In  Maryland  and  Virginia  the  German  was 
less  firmly  planted  than  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  correspondingly  less  enduring.  The  division 
of  the  old  conference  made  the  A-^irginia  side 
predominantly  English.  The  work  of  the  church, 
however,  continued  to  be  largely  confined  to 
people  of  German  origin.  The  Church  at  this  time 
was  entering  on  a  new  era.  Virginia  Conference 
set  sail  with  about  twenty  ministers  in  attendance 
at  the  first  session.  It  had  in  its  possession  in 
Maryland  two  and  one  half  church  houses,  and 
the  use  of  two  union  church  houses  in  addition. 
In  Virginia  it  had  one  church  building  and  a  half 
interest  in  another.  The  actual  lay  membership 
was  disproportionately  small,  as  compared  with 
the  number  of  ministers.  At  many  of  the  preach- 
ing places  there  were  no  enrolled  members,  and 
at  other  places  the  preachers  were  satisfied  with 
a  mere  nucleus  of  actual  members.  The  open 
field,  much  of  which  was  in  a  state  of  destitution 
and  neglect,  pleaded  for  assistance  with  all  of  the 
eloquence  that  could  be  breathed  by  famishing 
and  dying  souls. 

The  conference  met  at  Hickle's  school-house, 
on    Mill    Creek,  April    27,  1831,   Bishop  Henry 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBREXNER.  47 

Kumler  presiding.  There  was  but  one  bishop  in 
the  church  now,  as  Bishop  Newcomer  had  died 
the  year  previous.  Bishop  Kumler  had  united 
with  the  old  conference  at  a  session  held  in 
Hagerstown  in  1814,  had  served  as  bishop  since 
1825,  and  was  at  this  time  fifty-six  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  man  of  neat  appearance,  liad  an  experi- 
ence and  convictions  of  his  own,  and,  wliile  not 
demonstrative,  was  persistent  and  firm.  He  was 
intelligent,  prudent,  and  impressed  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact  that  he  was  charged  with  a 
mission  from  God.  He  was  a  sincere  and  faithful 
preacher,  rather  than  a  great  preacher.  He  had 
the  talent,  energy,  and  perseverance  required  by 
the  field  over  which  he  presided  as  bishop.  Of 
the  ministers  already  named,  Wm.  R.  Rhinehart, 
J.  Krack,  G.  A.  Geeting,  and  J.  Zahn  were 
present.  Henry  Burtner,  who  became  a  member 
of  conference  in  '1821,  a  man  of  solid  worth,  was 
also  present.  Mr.  Burtner,  while  he  labored  as 
an  itinerant,  was  very  successful,  and  afterward 
as  a  local  preacher  he  was  scarcely  less  useful. 
He  resided  not  far  from  Hagerstow^n,  and  early 
took  a  friendly  interest  in  Mr.  Glossbrenner. 
Rev.  J.  Houck  was  also  a  leading  spirit.  Rev. 
George  Patterson  had  the  character  and  influence 
that  came  from  a  longer  term  of  service.  Of  those 
who  composed  that  little  conference  in  1831,  one 


48  LIFE    OF    GLUSSBRENNER. 

venerable  man  remains,  Rev.  John  Haney,  of 
Marion,  Minnesota.  Rev.  George  Hoflman,  an- 
otlier  member  of  that  conference,  died  at  Mt. 
Solon,  Virginia,  in  1888.  They  both  became 
members  of  conference  in  1830. 

The  first  part  of  the  session  was  occupied  with 
the  examination  of  ministers.  This  meant  that 
they  should  declare  their  heart  experience  and 
their  intentions  for  the  future,  as  well  as  the 
struggles  through  which  they  may  have  passed 
in  endeavoring  to  build  u})  the  kingdom  of  God. 
"When  the  question  was  asked.  Who  are  the 
candidates  for  the  ministry?  the  names  of  "Wm. 
Miller,  J.  J.  Glossbrenner,  Frederick  Hisey,  and 
Jacob  Haas  were  presented.  The  committee  for  the 
examination  of  candidates  consisted  of  Henry  Burt- 
ner,  J.  Krack,  and  George  Patterson.  The  report 
was  favorable,  and  all  of  the  candidates  were 
admitted.  It  was  not  then  necessary  that  a 
candidate  should  have  had  license  previously,  or 
that  he  should  have  a  fornud  recommendation; 
but  it  was  necessary  that  the  presiding  elders  or 
other  responsible  members  of  the  conference 
should  have  good  knowledge  of  his  ability  and 
fitness. 

During  the  session  Mr.  Glossbrenner  preached 
once  in  Mt.  Jackson,  near  which  place  the  con- 
ference  was   held.     It    was    his   first   sermon   in 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNBR.  45/ 

Virginia.  When  he  was  received  into  the 
conference,  he  had  not  yet  completed  his 
nineteenth  year.  His  youth  did  not  stand  for  a 
moment  in  his  way,  as  there  was  that  in  his 
manner  and  bearing  that  drew  to  him  the  hearts 
of  the  older  ministers,  and  disarmed  all  opposi- 
tion. The  ministers  of  Virginia  Conference 
were  almost  all  young  men,  and  by  these  and 
other  young  men  who  would  soon  join  them,  the 
conference  was  to  take  its  place  in  the  foremost 
rank  in  building  up  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

While  in  -  attendance  at  the  session  of  the 
conference,  Mr.  Glossbrenner's  home  was  with 
Mr.  Andrew  Funkhouser,  whose  memory  is 
sacredly  treasured  by  all  of  the  United  Brethren 
congregations  in  Virginia.  An  old  gentleman, 
then  a  boy  living  in  the  neighborhood,  relates 
that  he  became  much  interested  in  Mr.  Gloss- 
brenner  while  he  was  present  at  this  session  of  the 
conference.  He  noticed  the  excellent  care  that  he 
took  of  his  pony.  When  others  were  praising  the 
qualities  of  their  horses,  he  claimed  that  his  horse 
could  out-travel  any  of  them.  When  Mr.  Gloss- 
brenner  preached  at  Mt.  Jackson,  his  new 
acquaintance  went  to  hear  him,  and  was  greatly 
surprised  and  delighted  with  the  sermon. 

At  this  session  a  strong  temperance  resolution 
was  presented  by  Wm.  R.  Rhinehart  and  adopted 


50  LIFE    OF    GL0S6BRENNEU. 

by  the  conference.  In  the  same  connection  it  was 
resolved  that  if  Conrad  Weist  should  not  "quit 
selling  liquor  and  preach  more,"  his  "license 
should  be  demanded." 

Mrc  Glossbrenner's  name  was  at  once  placed  on 
the  itinerant  list,  there  being  five  names  on  the 
list  besides  his  own.  The  appointments  for  the 
ensuing  year  were  as  follows:  Hagerstown  Cir- 
cuit, J.  J,  Glossbrenner,  with  Wm.  R.  Rhinehart, 
senior  preacher  and  presiding  elder;  Mechanics- 
town  Circuit,  "Wm.  Miller,  with  G.  A.  Gecting, 
presiding  elder;  Staunton  and  Woodstock  circuits, 
^oah  Woodyard,  J.  Ilaney,  and  Jacob  Hauck, 
with  J.  Zahn,  presiding  elder.  Conference  ad- 
journed after  a  session  of  four  days. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  greatly  surprised  when 
it  was  announced  that  lie  was  to  return  to 
Maryland  and  labor  on  Hagerstown  Circuit.  As 
before  indicated,  he  had  taken  everything  that  he 
had  with  him,  expecting  that  his  work  would  be 
in  Virginia.  By  an  arrangement  of  the  presiding 
elders  in  Maryland,  the  Hagerstown  and  Me- 
chanicstown  circuits  were  united  and  served  as 
one.  Mechanicstown  Circuit,  so  called  from  a 
small  town  in  the  northern  part  of  Frederick 
County,  corresponded  in  the  main  to  Frederick 
County,  as  Hagerstown  Circuit  corresponded  in 
the  main  to  Washington  County.     The  circuity  as 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  51 

finally  arranged,  had  thirty  appointments,  and  a 
period  of  four  weeks  was  required  for  one  round. 
The  itinerants  had  two  days'  rest  in  four  weeks. 
At  most  of  the  appointments  the  meetings  were 
held  in  private  houses  or  school-houses.  Mr. 
Rhinehart  did  active  itinerant  service  outside  of 
his  duties  as  presiding  elder.  Mr.  Miller,  the 
colleague  of  Mr.  Glossbrenner,  was  a  fine  preach- 
er, and  Mr.  Rhineliart  was  very  popular;  and  from 
some  cause,  more  or  less  evident,  the  two  did  not 
get  along  pleasantly.  As  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was 
but  a  boy,  he  got  along  smoothly,  being,  as  he  said, 
too  insignificant  to  excite  envy  or  jealousy. 

He  was  everywhere  greeted  as  the  "  boy  preach- 
er."  One  of  his  appointments  was  at  Rocky 
Springs,  near  Frederick  City.  When  Mr.  Cor- 
nelius Staley,  one  of  the  leading  members, 
came  for  the  first  time  to  hear  him,  he  doubted 
the  wisdom  of  the  conference  in  sending  such  a 
boy.  He  listened  attentively,  however,  and  from 
that  time  till  the  day  of  his  death  he  regarded  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  with  the  highest  esteem,  and  treated 
him  with  the  greatest  kindness.  The  meetings 
at  this  place  were  in  the  house  of  Father  Valentine 
Doup.  iN'aturally  the  preacher  often  staid  over 
night  with  Father  Doup.  The  only  objection 
Mr.  Glossbrenner  had  to  him  was  that  he  came 
to  his  room  every  morning  with  a  candle,  summer 


i>Z  LIFE    OF    IJLUSSBRENNER. 

and  winter  alike,  at  four  o'clock,  and  said, 
"  Jacob,  it  is  time  to  get  up."  This  he  did,  not- 
withstanding Jacob  might  have  preached  three 
times  the  day  before,  and  might  then  have  sat  up 
late  to  study  his  books.  The  course  of  Father 
Doup  was  an  advantage  in  one  way,  however,  as 
it  gave  the  young  preacher  additional  time  for 
study.  The  society  at  this  place  was  not  large, 
hut  it  comprised  some  of  the  best  members  with 
whom  the  Church  has  been  favored — the  Doups, 
Cronises,  Staleys,  Kemps,  and  others.  It  was 
in  this  neighborhood  that  the  first  regular  annual 
conference  was  held  in  the  year  1800. 

When  Mr.  Glossbrenner  made  his  first  visit  to 
Mechanicstown  he  rode  up  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Weller,  the  usual  stopping-place  for  preachers. 
Mr.  "VVeller  came  out  to  see  what  was  wanted. 
Mr.  Glossbrenner  told  him  that  he  was  the  junior 
preacher  and  had  come  to  fill  his  appointment. 
Mr.  Weller  looked  at  him  critically  and  then  said,, 
"  I  do  not  know  what  the  conference  means  by 
sending  out  boys  to  preacli."  But  after  the  first 
sermon  no  one  could  gather  a  better  congregation 
than  the  "  boy  ",  as  he  was  called. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner's  own  words  give  us  a  glimpse 
of  the  year's  work  from  his  own  standpoint. 
"My  first  year  in  the  itinerancy  was  a  year  of  hard 
labor,  but  we  had  some  precious  revivals.     Hav- 


LIFE    UF    GLUSSBRENNER.  58 

ing  as  many  appointments  as  I  had,  the  question 
arises,  what  time  had  I  for  reading  and  prepara- 
tion for  the  pulpit?  I  did  much  of  my  reading  in 
the  saddle,  and  at  night  when  the  toils  of  the  day 
were  over.  I  was  young  and  inexperienced  and 
was  looked  upon  as  th6  boy  preacher.  Of  course 
the  brethren  did  not  expect  much  and  so  did  not 
feel  disappointed." 

It  may  be  said  that  no  difference  what  expec- 
tations they  may  have  had,  their  expectations 
were  always  more  than  realized.  Mr.  Glossbren- 
ner  as  a  preacher  started  out  very  much  as  he 
continued,  and  as  he  was  known  in  after  years. 
He  may  have  been  more  emotional,  and  of  course 
was  less  perfect  in  his  comprehension  of  doctrine, 
but  the  type  of  his  preaching  was  the  same.  The 
great  secret  of  his  early  success  in  preaching  was 
in  this,  that  his  thought,  his  experience,  the 
mission  on  which  he  was  sent,  and  the  occasions 
that  he  met  were  in  perfect  accord.  There  was 
in  his  preaching  nothing  arbitrary,  nothing  con- 
trived. He  was  in  accord  with  the  particular 
stage  of  the  Church,  with  the  condition  of  society, 
with  himself,  and  with  God.  It  is  to  be  feared 
that  in  our  day  many  young  ministers  spoil 
themselves  for  enjoyment  and  efficiency  in  the 
ministry,  by  their  disregard  and  contempt  for 
the  subtle  conditions  upon  which  joy  and  success 


54  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

in  the  ministry  depend.  The  minister  should 
be  himself,  and  should  speak  and  work  straight 
out  from  an  open,  throbbing  heart,  and  should 
not  be  dependent  for  his  inspiration  on  extra- 
neous considerations.  Under  the  good  providence 
of  God  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  so  placed  as  to 
have  the  benefit  of  the  free  actings  of  his  own 
heart,  and  through  life  he  was  spared  the  calamity 
of  losing  this  position  of  advantage.  The  Holy 
Spirit  moves  on  the  lines  of  our  thought  and 
thrones  himself  in  the  permanent  and  normal  af- 
fections of  men.  "With  some,  effort,  education,  and 
practice  may  be  necessary  to  enable  them  to  come 
into  a  natural,  vital,  and  telling  relation  to  things. 
He  was  at  home  in  his  work  from  the  beginning. 
The  salary  of  an  unmarried  preacher  at  this  time 
was  eighty  dollars,  and  of  a  married  preacher  one 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars.  Not  always,  though, 
were  these  amounts  collected. 

In  1832  the  conference  convened  at  Hagers- 
town.  Henry  Kumler  was  again  present  as 
bishop.  J.  M.  Hershey  and  George  Rymal  were 
received  into  the  conference.  They  were  valuable 
additions  to  the  itinerant  force  of  the  conference. 
The  appointments  were  as  follows:  Hagerstown 
Circuit,  John  Dorcas  and  Peter  Whitzel  with  Wm. 
R.  Rhinehart  and  H.  Burtner  as  presiding  elders; 
Woodstock  Circuit,  J.  Haney;  Staunton  Circuit, 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  55 

J.  J.  Glossbrenuer  and  J.  M.  Hershey.  George 
Patterson  was  presiding  elder  for  the  two  circuits 
in  Virginia. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  received  his  appointment 
cheerfully.  Staunton  Circuit  included  the  upper 
part  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  including  par- 
ticularly parts  of  Rockingham,  Augusta  and 
Rockbridge  counties.  The  circuit  was  about  two 
hundred  miles  around.  Traveling  in  Virginia  at 
this  time  was  romantic.  The  Shenandoah  Valley 
is  one  of  the  grandest  valleys  in  our  grand 
domain.  It  lies  between  the  Blue  Ridge  range 
on  the  one  side  and  ranges  belonging  to  the 
Allegheny  system  on  the  other,  and  is 
traversed  b}'  the  Shenandoah  River.  The  valley 
is  diversified  by  hills  and  level  tracts.  The 
Massanutten  range  springs  up  abruptly  out  of  the 
middle  of  the  valley  and  after  continuing  for  forty 
miles  as  abruptly  subsides  to  the  common  level. 
This  range  lies  between  the  north  and  south 
branches  of  the  Shenandoah  River.  For  the  year 
1832  thd  preachers  in  the  lower  part  of  the  valley 
and  the  preachers  in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley 
interchanged  to  a  certain  extent  in  their  work. 
Rev.  Wm.  R.  Coursey  became  the  colleague  of 
Rev.  John  Haney  in  the  lower  valley.  At  certain 
points  in  their  trips  up  and  down  the  valley  the 
young  preachers  would  meet.     While  not  disposed 


66  I, IKK    OK    GLOSSBUEXNER. 

to  be  light  in  their  intercourse,  they  yet  took 
great  pleasure  in  their  journeys  and  in  their 
contact  one  with  another. 

The  lower  part  of  the  valley  was  settled  largely 
by  Germans  from  Pennsylvania.  Some  German 
families  also  settled  early  in  the  upper  valley. 
The  upper  valley  was,  however,  more  largely 
occupied  by  a  population  of  Scotch-Irish,  also 
from  Pennsylvania.  All  along  the  valley,  though, 
the  earlier  Virginia  population  poured  over  the 
eastern  range  of  mountains  and  gave  their  partic- 
ular cast  to  these  accessions  from  Pennsylvania. 
Thus  the  whole  people,  by  degrees,  came  to  be 
fashioned  after  the  typical  Virginia  mold. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  entirely  new  to  all  of  the 
people  on  the  circuit,  and  had  again  to  pass 
through  all  of  the  curiosity  and  wonderment  of 
being  the  boy  preacher.  The  iirst  time  that  he 
came  to  Church ville,  a  brother-in-law  of  Rev. 
George  Hoft'man  came  with  him  to  show  him  the 
way.  The  church  at  Church  ville,  a  fair  brick 
building,  was  owned  by  the  United  Brethren  and 
Methodists  jointly.  The  Methodists  were  holding 
their  quarterly  meeting  at  Churchville,  but  the 
Methodist  presiding  elder  said  that  the  United 
Brethren  preacher  should  have  his  hour.  A 
large  audience  was  assembled.  When  Mr.  Gloss- 
brenner rose   to    speak,  the    man   who  had  come 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  57 

along  to  pilot  him  put  his  hands  to  his  face,  but 
as  Mr.  Glossbrenner  proceeded,  he  withdrew 
them  altogether.  "When  the  services  were  closed, 
the  presiding  elder  came  around  to  the  man,  and 
said:  "You  need  not  be  ashamed  of  that  boj. 
He  will  make  a  strong  preacher."  A  number  of 
similar  incidents  could  be  given.  At  one  place  a 
good  sister  praised  him  extravagantly  to  his  face. 
Afterward  a  brother,  known  as  Billy  Edwards, 
fearing  the  effect  of  such  praise,  said  to  him  that 
he  should  not  be  influenced  by  such  flattery. 
"Oh,"  said  Mr.  Glossbrenner,  "such  words  go  in 
at  one  ear  and  out  at  the  other." 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Hershey  and  himself,  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  said:  "  We  spent  the  year  pleasant- 
ly together.     We  had  a  prosperous  year." 

The  house  of  Christian  Shuey,  about  seven 
miles  from  Churchvill^,  was  a  home  for  the 
preachers,  about  all  the  home  that  the  two  young 
itinerants  needed.  His  father's  house  had  like- 
wise been  a  rendezvous  for  the  early  United 
Brethren  preachers.  Christian  Shuey  was  a 
noble-looking  man,  wealthy  and  generous,  a 
typical  Virginian  of  the  higher  class.  In  his 
house  there  was  a  room  known  as  the  preachers' 
room.  Here  they  would  remain,  rest,  and  study 
in  the  time  betw^een  their  rounds.  Here  they  left 
their  soiled  clothes  and  found  them  again  in  good 


68  LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

order  awaiting  their  return.  The  wife  of  Christian 
Shuey  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  Geetiug,  who 
was  the  son  of  George  A.  Geeting,  the  co-laborer 
of  Otterbein.  She  took  great  interest  in  religion 
and  the  work  of  the  Church.  She  would  not  only 
attend  the  camp-meetings,  but  she  would  arrange 
to  take  a  great  many  of  her  neighbors  and  friends 
with  her.  While  at  Christian  Shuey's  Mr.  Gloss- 
brenner  was  very  studious.  He  had  a  small  stock 
of  books  which  he  left  at  the  house.  Other 
books  he  would  take  with  him.  He  was  quiet 
and  reserved. 

During  the  year  there  sprang  up  a  mutual  re- 
gard between  Mr.  Glossbrenner  and  Maria  M.,  the 
daughter  of  Christian  Shuey.  It  may  have  been 
love  at  first  sight,  as  they  were  married  after  an 
acquaintance  of  less  than  a  year.  The  marriage 
took  place  Feb.  14,  1833,  Rev.  John  Zahn 
officiating.  The  union  was  a  perfect  union  of 
hearts,  and  the  blending  of  two  lives  into  one  was 
never  more  complete.  The  marriage  was  in 
many  ways  advantageous  to  Mr.  Glossbrenner, 
while  Mrs.  Glossbrenner,  who  declined  the  hand 
of  a  wealthy  suitor,  never  regretted  the  prefer- 
ence that  she  gave.  He  was  twenty  years  of  age, 
and  she  was  three  years  his  junior.  They  took  a 
wedding  trip  on  horseback.  Mrs.  Glossbrenner 
afterward,  referring  to  it,  said:     "We  started  oft 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  59 

two  of  the  greenest,  but  two  of  the  happiest 
persons  alive."  For  about  a  year  they  made 
their  home  with  Mrs.  Glossbrenner's  father.  Mr. 
Glossbrenner,  referring  to  his  early  marriage, 
said:  "  There  is  a  notion  that  ministers  especially 
should  not  marry  young.  It  is  my  opinion,  often 
expressed,  that  if  a  minister  marries  a  suitable 
wife — one  who  is  pious  and  self-sacrificing,  and 
who  is  willing  to  submit  to  toil  and  privation  for 
Christ's  sake — he  cannot  marry  too  young.  But 
if  he  makes  a  bad  choice,  he  is  too  young  though 
he  be  forty  years  old." 

Mrs.  Glossbrenner  afterward  traveled  with  her 
husband  one  or  more  times  around  his  circuit. 
The  vehicle  in  common  use  at  that  time  was  a 
two-wheeled  gig,  which  furnished  a  rather  luxu- 
rious mode  of  traveling  for  the  times.  Traveling 
in  this  way  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner,  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  set  out  for  Maryland  to  attend  the 
session  of  Virginia  Conference.  They  made  a 
short  visit  at  Hagerstown  where  Mr.  Glossbrenner 
preached.  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  wore  a  dress  of 
black  silk  with  white  lace  cuiFs.  He  thought  it 
too  stylish,  and  feared  that  the  people  would  think 
her  proud.  He  wished  the  lace  removed,  but  she 
made  excuses  and  finally  said  she  had  no  scissors. 
He  kindly  ofi^ered  to  grant  her  the  use  of  his 
penknife    for    removing    the   objectionable    lace. 


60  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

The  part  of  the  faithful  itinerant's  wife,  with  its 
privations  and  sacrifices,  so  connects  itself  with 
the  work  that  he  has  to  do,  as  to  suggest  the 
propriety  of  her  being  granted  a  place  in  the 
conference  with  him.  It  certainly  seems  suitable 
that  the  young  wife  should  have  the  initiation 
that  comes  from  accompanying  her  husband  to 
the  conference.  Especially  at  the  first  conference 
is  she  the  interested  and  interesting  one. 

The  third  session  of  Virginia  Conference  was 
held  at  Pleasant  Valley,  Maryland,  near  the 
present  Rohrersville,  beginning  April  17,  1833, 
Bishop  Henry  Kumler  presiding.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood where  the  session  was  held  there  had 
been,  under  the  labors  of  Rev.  John  Dorcas,  a 
great  revival  in  which  more  than  one  hundred 
persons  were  converted,  many  of  them  being 
leading  persons  in  the  community.  At  this 
session  William  R.  Coursey  and  George  A.  Shuey 
were  received.  Mr.  Coursey,  who  had  been  a 
school  teacher,  had  entered  upon  ministerial  work 
the  year  previous,  becoming  the  colleague  of  Rev. 
J.  Haney  on  Woodstock  Circuit.  He  was  destined 
to  be  a  great  power  in  building  up  the  Church  in 
Virginia  and  Maryland.  George  A.  Shuey  was 
the  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Glossbrenner.  He  had 
received  a  good  education,  and  was  an  acceptable 
preacher.     He  did  not  travel  actively  many  years; 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  61 

but  as  an  example  of  an  earnest,  faithful  Christian, 
as  a  trusted  counselor,  and  as  an  intelligent 
supporter  of  the  church,  he  will  be  held  in  honored 
memory. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner,  along  with  J.  Houck  and 
George  HofPman,was  ordained  at  this  session.  At 
this  time  ordination  was  conferred,  if  the  candi- 
dates were  worthy,  after  a  probation  of  two  years 
in  the  conference.  Bishop  Kumler,  assisted  by 
Rev.  William  Brown,  who  within  a  month  was 
himself  elected  to  the  office  of  bishop,  officiated 
in  the  ordination.  Bishop  Kumler  and  Rev. 
William  Brown  had  both  been  ordained  by  Bishop 
Newcomer,  the  former  in  1816,  and  the  latter  in 
1819.  Bishop  Newcomer  himself  had  been 
ordained  by  Otterbein  in  1813.  Through  this  line 
how  many  now  may  trace  their  ordination.  Of 
this  session  Mr.  Glossbrenner  says:  "This  was  a 
very  important  and  solemn  session,  as  it  was  at 
this  conference  that  I  was  ordained  elder  in  the 
church  of  Christ.  It  was  to  me  one  of  the  most 
solemn  days  of  my  life.  To  answer  the  important 
questions  proposed  is  to  assume  grave  responsibil- 
ities as  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  vows  then 
made  are  recorded  in  heaven." 

The  following  are  the  appointments:  Hagers- 
town  Circuit,  John  Dorcas  and  W.  R.  Coursey; 
Woodstock  Circuit,  P.  Whitzel  and  W.  Knott; 


62  LIFE    OF    QLOSSBRENNER. 

South  Branch  Circuit,  J.  M.  Hershey;  Staunton 
Circuit,  J.  J.  Glossbrenner  and  George  Rjmal. 
Win.  Brown  was  presiding  elder  in  Maryland, 
and  John  Ilaney  was  the  presiding  elder  in 
Virginia.  George  Rymal,  the  associate  of  Mr. 
Glossbrenner,  was  a  giant  in  body  and  likewise 
possessed  of  a  poAverful  mind.  lie  once  grasped 
a  powerful  colored  man  who  had  threatened  to 
whip  him,  and  held  him  in  his  hands  as  helpless 
as  an  infant,  while  he  told  him  that  unless  he 
would  behave  himself  lie  would  pitch  him  over 
the  precipice  on  the  brink  of  which  they  stood. 
While  not  cultured,  his  strong  sense  and  great 
energy  made  him  as  a  preacher  highly  effective, 
often  simply  overwhelming.  Mr.  Glossbrennei- 
found  him  a  pleasant  companion  and  a  good 
worker.     The  year  was  prosperous. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  w^as  not  in  the  distinctive 
sense  a  revivalist.  Yet  he  made  the  conversion 
of  the  people  a  direct  aim,  and  God  blessed  his 
labors  with  frequent  and  genuine  revivals.  In  a 
quite  equal  manner,  he  prepared  communities  for 
a  true  w^ork  of  grace,  promoted  revivals  directly, 
and  built  up  those  that  were  gathered  into  the 
church. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Conference  of  1834 — Elected  Presiding  Elder — Staunton 
District — Re-Elected  Presiding  Elder  in  1835,  1836  and 
1837 — Incidents — Sent  to  Shiloh  Mission  in  1838  and 
Returned  in  1839 — In  1840  and  1841  on  Frederick  Cir- 
cuit— In  1842  Presiding  Elder  on  Maryland  District — 
Incidents  from  His  Maryland  Work — In  1843  on  Rock- 
bridge Circuit — In  1844  and  1845  Assigned  to  Staunton 
Circuit — Character  as  a  Preacher — Personal  Elements 
— Sermon  at  Franklin — Support  of  Church  Interests — ■ 
Extracts  from  Published  Articles — Home  lyife. 

The  conference  of  1834  was  held  at  Church ville, 
Virginia.  At  this  conference  Rev.  Wm.  Brown 
appeared  as  bishop.  Since  the  division  of  the  old 
conference  he  had  labored  a  part  of  the  time  in 
Pennsylvania  Conference.  From  1825  to  1828  he 
preached  for  the  Otterbein  congregation  at  Bal- 
timore. In  1833  he  was  elected  bishop.  He  rep- 
resented the  best  type  of  the  preachers  in  the 
German-English  stage  of  the  Church,  being  a 
man  of  sturdy  sense,  firm  convictions,  and 
exhibiting  the  discipline  and  strength  coming 
from  earnest  conflict.  One  of  the  new  members 
admitted  was  Jacob  Bachtel,  one  of  the  most 
original,  positive,  and  laborious  ministers  raised 
up   by    the   United   Brethren   Church.      Twelve 

63 


64  ^  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

preachers  were  willing  to  labor  as  itinerants.  The 
conference  adopted  a  resolution,  introduced  by 
Rev.  W.  R.  Rhinehart,  looking  to  the  publication 
of  a  religious  paper  under  tlie  auspices  of  Virginia 
Conference.  The  result  was  the  publication  at 
Hagerstown,  Maryland,  of  a  few  numbers  under 
the  name  Union  Messenger,  afterward  Mountain 
Messenger,  Rev.  "W.  R.  Rhinehart,  editor. 

At  this  session  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  elected 
presiding  elder  and  assigned  to  the  Staunton 
District.  The  mode  of  his  election  was  quite 
novel.  In  early  times  the  sessions  of  conference 
were  in  the  middle  of  the  week.  The  bishop 
chose  liis  own  day  and  hour  for  preaching  the 
conference  sermon.  It  was  the  method  of  the 
discipline  for  the  bishops  to  nominate  the  presid- 
ing elders  and,  when  elected,  to  assign  them  their 
districts.  At  this  time  Bishop  Brown,  just  as  he 
was  ascending  the  pulpit  steps  to  preach  the  con- 
ference sermon,  turned  half  about  and  said:  "I 
move  that  Bro.  Glossbrenner  be  presiding  elder. 
All  that  arc  favorable  say  Aye,"  Bro.  Gloss- 
brenner was  elected,  for  the  negative  was  not  put. 

A  fact  in  the  early  history  of  the  Church 
as  little  understood  as  any  other,  is  that  the 
first  ministers  of  the  United  Brethren  Churcli 
were  primarily  local  ministers.  Bishop  Asbury 
criticised  this  feature.      It  was  this  that  was  the 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  65- 

principal  thing  in  preventing  a  union  with  the 
Evangelical  Association  in  1813.  The  presiding 
elders  continued  to  be  of  the  local  class  after  the 
other  preachers  became  more  strictly  itinerants. 
In  1823  the  old  conference  chose  seven  presiding 
elders,  all  of  whom  were  local  except  one.  Mr. 
Glossbrenner,  just  as  some  before  him  had  been, 
was  an  itinerant  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  a  pre- 
siding elder.  As  more  came  to  be  expected  of  the 
presiding  elder,  the  office  came  to  imply  more  of 
distinction.  In  itself  the  office  was  responsible, 
as  the  presiding  elders,  with  the  bishop,  appointed 
the  preachers  to  their  fields  of  labor.  "When  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  was  elected  presiding  elder,  he  was 
not  yet  twenty-two  years  of  age.  Ills  modest 
manner,  as  well  as  his  zeal  and  talents,  marked 
him  as  a  proper  recipient  for  whatever  of  honor 
and  trust  there  was  to  bestow. 

Speaking  with  reference  to  this  period  of  his 
life,  he  says:  "  I  had  about  sense  enough  to  hear 
with  respect  the  advice  and  counsel  of  my  older 
brethren.  Kow,  however,  it  is  too  often  the  case 
that  young  men  taken  into  the  conference  are 
hardly  warm  in  their  seats  till  they  act  and  speak 
as  though  they  had  little  respect  for  the  counsel 
of  the  aged  and  experienced.  Oh,  how  important 
is  the  grace  of  humility  in  young  ministers.  He 
that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted,  while  he 


66  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

that  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased."  Later  in 
life  a  young  minister  wrote  to  him,  asking  what 
he  should  do  to  become  prominent  in  the  church. 
He  answered  that  if  he  desired  to  rise  in  influ- 
ence and  desired  to  fill  important  positions,  his 
best  plan  was  to  be  humble  and  fill  faithfully 
whatever  positions  were  assigned  him,  and  in  due 
time  the  church  would  say,  Come  up  higher.  The 
young  preacher  seems  to  have  profited  by  the 
advice,  for  he  afterward  came  to  fill  the  position 
of  bishop. 

Staunton  District  embraced  Woodstock,  Staun- 
ton, and  South  Branch  circuits  and  "Winchester 
Mission.  A  presiding  elder  was  to  travel  through 
his  district  and  preach  as  often  as  possible.  He 
was  to  appoint  the  quarterly  and  great  meetings 
and  if  possible  attend  them.  He  was  to  examine 
whether  the  traveling  and  local  preachers  did 
their  duty ;  was  to  change  the  local  preachers,  if 
benefit  were  likely  to  result,  and  to  change  also 
the  traveling  preachers,  if  it  should  seem  advisable. 

The  fifth  session  of  Virginia  conference  was 
held  at  Hickle's  school-house  on  Mill  Creek, 
beginning  March  18,  1835,  William  Brown  again 
presiding.  Six  new  members  were  received  and 
sixteen  preachers  were  willing  to  take  regular 
work.  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  continued  presiding 
elder    on    Staunton    district.      The   district   was 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  67 

enlarged  by  the  formation  of  two  new  missions. 
Of  the  district  at  this  time  Mr.  Glossbrenner  says: 
"  The  Virginia  district  extended  from  Rockbridge, 
Virginia,  to  the  Potomac  River,  and  westward  to 
the  Ohio  River,  from  east  to  west  three  hundred 
miles,  and  from  north  to  south  about  one  hundred 
miles.  The  traveling  on  the  district  was  done  on 
horseback.  During  the  year  five  campmeetings 
were  held."  The  salary  for  the  year  was  ninety- 
five  dollars. 

March  19, 1836,  Virginia  Conference  met  at  the 
Geeting  meeting-house  in  Washington  County, 
Maryland,  Bishop  Samuel  Iliestand  presiding. 
Bishop  Hiestand  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1782,  but 
his  ministerial  career  began  while  he  was  a 
resident  of  Ohio.  He  was  noted  for  his  exemplary 
character.  As  a  preacher  he  was  practical  and 
edifying.  This  conference  session  included  a 
Sabbath,  but  the  conference  sermon  was  not 
preached  till  the  following  Wednesday.  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  was  re-elected  presiding  elder  and 
returned  to  Staunton  district.  The  district 
included  a  new  mission,  now  regularly  recognized, 
in  Jackson  County,  on  the  Ohio  River.  The 
work  within  the  conference  territory  was  rapidly 
extending.  Mr.  Glossbrenner's  salary  for  this  year 
was  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars  and  thirty-one 
cents.     The  seventh  session  of  Virginia  Confer- 


t)8  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER, 

ence  was  held  in  Bethel  meeting-house,  near  the 
present  villageofChewsville,  Washington  County, 
Maryland,  beginning  March  20,  1837,  Bishop 
Hiestand  again  presiding.  Mr.  Glos.sbrenner  was 
re-elected  presiding  elder  and  assigned  to  Staun- 
ton district  for  the  fourth  year.  Winchester 
Circuit  was  now  included  in  Maryland  district, 
but  Staunton  district  was  enlarged  by  a  new 
mission  formed  in  Pendleton  County. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner's  greatest  hardships  were  in 
attending  to  the  requirements  of  the  work  on  the 
Ohio  River.  Much  of  the  way  he  followed  a 
bridle  path  through  a  sparsely  settled  country. 
But  a  more  hospitable  people  he  never  met.  In 
many  neighborhoods  the  people  had  preaching 
but  seldom,  and  were  anxious  to  hear  the  gospel. 
On  one  of  his  trips  to  attend  quarterly  meetings 
on  the  Ohio  River,  he  stayed  all  night  with  a  very 
clever  family  who  cared  for  him  well  and  would 
take  no  pay,  but  insisted  that  he  should  leave  an 
appointment  for  preaching  on  his  return.  Ke 
made  his  arrangements  accordingly.  On  his 
return,  after  a  long  ride  on  the  day  when  he 
expected  to  meet  his  engagenicnt,  high  waters 
liaving  interfered  with  the  speed  on  which  he  had 
counted,  darkness  overtook  him  and  he  was 
unable  to  find  his  way.  He  tied  his  horse  to  the 
bushes,  took  his  saddle  for  a  pillow,  and  used  his 


LIFE    OF    QLOSSBRENNER.  69 

saddle  blanket  for  a  covering.  The  wilderness 
was  infested  with  wild  animals,  but  he  passed  the 
night  unmolested.  In  the  morning  he  found  a 
path  that  led  him  by  early  breakfast  time  to  the 
place  where  he  had  intended  to  preach.  lie  and 
his  horse  w^ere  well  cared  for,  and  he  started 
homeward  with  a  thankful  heart. 

At  another  time  when  on  his  way  to  these 
distant  missions,  after  a  hard  day's  ride,  he  called 
at  a  cabin  and  asked  lodging  for  the  night.  The 
surroundings  were  not  promising,  but  darkness 
was  coming  on  and  he  dared  not  undertake  to  go 
further.  The  man  of  the  house  said  that  he  might 
stay  and  that  they  would  do  the  best  they  could 
for  him.  He  saw  that  his  horse  was  well  secured 
in  a  rail  pen,  and  then  went  into  the  house  tired 
and  hungry.  The  good  woman  of  the  house 
proceeded  to  get  him  some  supper,  and  he  watched 
her  movements  anxiously.  She  in  the  first  place 
baked  a  large  corn  cake,  and  then  went  out  and 
got  a  tin  of  milk  and  placed  it  on  the  table, 
^ovv,  he  thought,  with  the  corn-dodger  and  a 
pint  of  milk  he  could  have  a  good  supper.  But 
alas,  the  milk  was  fresh  from  the  cow  and  he  could 
not  drink  it.  So  his  supper  consisted  of  the  corn- 
dodger, and  he  "was  thankful  for  that.  He  could 
not  imagine  where  he  should  sleep.  The  house 
included     kitchen,    dining-room,   bed-room    and 


70  LIFE    UF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

parlor  all  in  one  room.  The  parents  occupied  the 
only  bed  in  the  room.  The  children  were  tucked 
away  in  a  sort  of  trundle-bed,  and  his  bed  con- 
sisted of  a  bear  skin  in  the  corner.  lie  arose  well 
refreshed  and  went  on  his  way  thankful  that  he 
had  had  a  place  to  rest  his  weary  head. 

The  eighth  session  ot  Virginia  Conference  met 
March  21,  1838,  at  Shiloli  Church  in  Augusta 
County,  Virginia.  This  was  in  the  Christian 
Shuey  neighborhood.  The  United  Brethren 
worshiped  at  this  time  in  a  union  church.  After- 
ward Bethlehem  Church  was  built  by  the  United 
Brethren.  Bishop  Ilicstand  presided.  At  this 
session  Jacob  Markwood  was  admitted,  Xo  pen 
can  adequately  describe  the  character  and  career 
of  Mr.  Markwood.  When  received,  he  was  little 
past  his  twenty-third  year.  He  was  impetuous 
and  persevering.  Nothing  could  daunt  him.  He 
was  so  generous  that  he  would  give  away  his  last 
cent,  and  would  even  divide  his  clothes  with  one 
in  need.  His  fierj-  eloquence,  scathing  denuncia- 
tion, and  relentless  logic  bore  down  all  opposition. 
No  one  has  had  more  enthusiastic  admirers,  or 
has  written  his  name  deeper  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  Though  a  tew  years  the  junior  of  Mr. 
Glossbrenner,  he  soon  took  a  place  at  his  side  in 
the  earnest  work  of  the  conference.  At  this 
session  Virginia  Conterence  formed  a  home  mis- 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  71 

siouary  society.  Years  before  this,  however,  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  was  engaged  in  the  work  of  collect- 
ing missionary  money. 

lie  was  now  appointed  to  Shiloh  Mission,  the 
principal  appointments  of  which  were  at  Shiloh 
Church  and  at  Churchville.  Other  appointments 
in  Augusta  and  Rockbridge  counties  were  also 
included.  The  Shiloh  appointment  was  especially 
strong  and  aspired  to  have  something  to  do  in 
choosing  its  preacher,  and  desired  more  frequent 
services.  It  now  obtained  preaching  once  in  two 
weeks  instead  of  once  in  four  weeks.  After  being 
away  from  home  so  much  of  the  time  and  having 
to  travel  such  long  distances,  the  appointment  to 
Shiloh  Mission  would  be  a  great  relief.  Besides 
this  was  his  home  work. 

The  ninth  session  of  Virginia  Conference  was 
held  at  Jerusalem  Church,  Frederick  County, 
Maryland,  February  25,  1839,  Bishop  J.  Erb  pre- 
siding. Bishop  Hiestand  had  died  during  the  year. 
Bishop  Erb  was  serving  his  Urst  term  as  bishop. 
He  became  a  member  of  tlie  old  conference  in  1823 
at  a  session  held  in  Frederick  County,  Maryland. 
He  was  a  skilled  organizer,  and  did  much  for  the 
promotion  of  the  general  work  of  the  Church.  At 
this  session  J.  Reubush  was  received.  He  proved 
to  be  an  untiring  itinerant,  a  great  revivalist,  and 
a  veteran  missionary. 


72  LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Mr.  Glossbreuiier  was  returned  to  Shiloh 
Mission.  During  his  period  on  this  mission,  bo 
held  along  with  Dr.  Diddle,  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  an  extensive  revival  meeting  at  Church- 
ville.  Dr.  Diddle  was  then  young  in  the  ministry, 
and  in  demonstrations  of  enthusiasm  went  beyond 
Mr.  Glossbrenner.  He  became  the  first  president 
of  Roanoke  College.  The  mission  prospered.  As 
reported  in  the  minutes  of  1840,  "  Shiloh  Mission 
had  supported  its  preacher  the  last  two  years." 
The  name  was  now  changed  to  Rockbridge 
Circuit. 

February  3,  1840,  the  conference  again,  for  the 
third  time  in  ten  years,  niet  at  Hickle's  school- 
house  in  Shenandoah  County,  Virginia,  Bishop  Erb 
presiding.  By  this  conference,  Mr.  Glossbrenner. 
with  George  A.  Shuey  as  assistant,  was  placed  on 
Frederick  circuit,  in  Maryland.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  year,  before  going  to  their  new  field,  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  and  Mr.  Shuey  conducted,  for  the 
most  part,  a  precious  revival  meeting  at  Shiloh 
appointment  on  their  honife  work.  Two  camp- 
meetings  were  held  in  Maryland  this  year — 
one  near  Frederick  City,  and  the  other  near 
Boonsboro.  The  latter  was  specially  successful. 
Rev.  George  A.  Shuey,  in  a  report  of  the  meeting, 
said:  "Such  pointed  preaching,  such  pungent 
convictions,  sucli   agonizing  mourners,  and    such 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  73 

clear  conversious  are  rarely  witnessed."  Fifty- 
seven  joined  the  church. 

The  next  conference  was  held  at  Rocky  Springs, 
on  Frederick  circuit,  beginning  February  22, 1841. 
Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  returned  to  Frederick 
Circuit  for  another  year.  He  had  no  assistant. 
He  was  called  upon  this  year  to  preach  the 
funeral  sermon  of  Rev.  George  A.  Geeting,  who 
died  at  his  home  in  Washington  County,  Mary- 
land, at  the  age  of  sixty-one.  The  funeral 
sermon  was  very  impressive  and  full  of  con- 
solation. Mr.  Geeting  had  been  looked  upon 
for  years  as  a  father  by  his  associates  in  the 
conference.  On  Frederick  circuit  Mr.  Gloss- 
brenner met  with  the  friends  who  had  encouraged 
him  in  his  first  efforts  in  the  ministry  ten  years 
before.  The  work  during  this  second  period  of 
service  was  pleasant  and  successful. 

The  next  session  of  conference  met  at  Spring 
Hill,  Augusta  County,  Virginia,  April  4,  1842, 
Bishop  Erb  presiding.  By  this  conference  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  was  made  presiding  elder  and  placed 
on  the  Maryland  district,  which  included  Hagers- 
town,  Frederick  and  Winchester  circuits.  The 
work  on  the  district  prospered  greatly.  On  Ha- 
gerstown  circuit,  under  Rev.  D.  Spessard,  more 
than  one  hundred  persons  were  received  into  the 
church.      On   Frederick   circuit,   under   Rev.   J. 


74  LIFE    OF    GLOiSSBRENNEK. 

Bachtel  and  Rev.  J.  Mark  wood,  a  number  of 
precious  revivals  were  held. 

In  the  period  of  his  labors  in  Maryland,  he  was 
on  one  occasion,  sitting  by  the  side  of  Rev.  David 
Spessard,  who  was  preaching  a  sermon  iu  Jacob 
Hoover's  barn,  in  the  Doup  neighborhood,  in 
Frederick  County.  There  were  a  great  many 
roughs  in  the  districts  about,  and  formal  churcli 
members  gave  them  enough  countenance  to  em- 
bolden them.  At  this  meeting  there  came  to  be 
such  misbehavior  and  disorder  that  the  preacher 
was  compelled  to  stop.  Mr.  Glossbrenner  arose 
and  the  audience  at  once  became  as  quiet  as  death. 
He  then  repeated  solemnly  the  verse  of  scripture: 
"Behold,  ye  despisers,  and  wonder,  iiiid  })erish :  for 
I  work  a  work  in  your  days,  a  work  which  ye 
shall  in  no  wise  believe,  though  a  man  declare  it 
unto  you."  From  that  moment  to  the  end  of  the 
sermon  there  was  the  best  of  attention. 

At  another  time,  at  Jerusalem  Church,  in  the 
course  of  a  revival,  a  lady  had  come  forward  to 
the  altar.  Her  husband  who  was  in  the  audience 
began  to  make  a  disturbance,  declaring  that  he 
would  take  her  away  from  the  altar.  At  length 
Mr.  Glossbrenncr's  attention  was  turned  to  the  dis- 
turbance, and  he  asked  what  was  wrong.  Some  one 
answered,  "  This  man  wants  to  come  and  take  his 
wife  awav  from  the  mourners'  bench."     Mr.  Gloss- 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  75 

brenner  said,  "Stand  away  brethren,  and  let  him 
come  forward."  When  he  reached  the  side  of- 
his  wife  he  fell  down  upon  the  floor  and  at  the  top 
of  his  voice  cried  to  God  to  have  mercy  on  him. 

On  one  occasion  he  was  to  preach  at  a  place 
where  the  people  had  been  so  much  angered  at 
Rev.  J.  Markwood's  plain  preacliing  and  sarcastic 
language  that  they  wanted  no  United  Brethren 
preacher  to  come  into  the  neighborhood.  Besides 
the  people  were  all  divided  up  by  their  sellishness 
and  jealousies.  He  went  to  the  place  in  the  face 
of  anger  and  threats,  and  preached  from  the  text, 
"For  I  perceive  thou  art  in  the  gall  of  bitterness, 
and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity."  He  preached 
plainly  to  the  people  in  regard  to  their  sins  and 
their  strifes,  and  from  the  high  plane  of  eternal 
truth  and  noble  standards,  rather  than  from  the 
heat  of  his  own  feelings,  rebuked  their  spirit  and 
actions.  After  the  sermon  the  people  came  about 
him  and  thanked  him  for  his  presence  and  faith- 
ful words. 

In  1843  Virginia  Conference  convened  at  Rohr- 
ersville,  Washington  County,  Maryland,  Bishop 
Erb  presiding.  Among  those  received  were  J.  E. 
Bowersox,  J.  W.  Fulkerson  and  William  Lutz. 
Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  assigned  to  Rockbridge 
circuit.  This  was  the  same  fleld  that  was  knoAvn 
a  few  years  before  as  Shiloh  Mission. 


76  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

In  1844  the  conference  met  at  Ohurchville,  Vir- 
ginia, Bishop  Erb  presiding.  Mr.  Glossbrenner 
was  sent  to  Staunton  Circuit,  with  John  Gibbons 
as  assistant.  The  year  was  crowned  with  good 
success,  "  the  preacher  and  people  moving  on  with 
great  ent-onragenient.''  Throughout  the  confer- 
ence, during  tiiis  year,  more  than  five  hundred 
were  received  into  the  Church. 

The  next  session  of  conference  was  at  Jerusalem 
Church,  Frederick  County,  Maryland,  beginnino 
February  o,  1845,  Bishops  J.  Erb  and  Henry  Kum- 
ler,  jr.,  presiding.  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  returned 
to  Staunton  circuit,  but  the  following  June  the 
General  Conference  assigned  him  to  other  work, 
and  his  labors  as  an  itinerant  in  Virginia  Confer- 
ence, as  the  event  proved,  were  at  an  end. 

Daring  the  fourteen  years  of  his  labors  in  Vir- 
ginia Conference,  his  iiame  at  every  session  waa 
on  the  list  of  those  willing  to  take  work.  He 
might  easily  have  had  his  hands  full  of  other 
matters,  but  preaching  was  and  continued  to  be 
his  chief  work. 

Referring  to  his  early  years  in  the  ministry, 
Mr.  Glossbrenner  said:  "In  these  days  we  had 
in  Virginia  no  stations  that  atibrded  large 
salaries.  Consequently  there  was  no  seeking  after 
soft  places  and  large  pay.  Xone  of  the  itinerants 
imagined  that  they   were  adapted  to  till  stations 


LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  77 

only,  but  were  willing  to  go  to  any  mission  or 
circuit  that  might  be  assigned  them.  Since  those 
early  days  we  have  witnessed  great  changes. 
Some  men  speak  and  act  as  though  they  had  a 
commission  from  Christ  to  fill  important  places, 
and  if  those  places  cannot  be  obtained,  they  are 
ready  to  leave  the  church  of  their  fathers." 

The  territory  occupied  by  Virginia  Conference 
was,  for  the  United  Brethren  Church,  a  difficult 
field.  It  was  the  only  considerable  part  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church  which  was  aftogether 
within  slave  territory.  A  part  of  the  Shenandoah 
Valley  was  most  haughty  and  intolerant  in  its 
slave-holding  spirit,  being  within  the  so-called 
Tenth  Legion,  famed  for  its  devotion  to  slave- 
holding.  While  no  large  portion  of  the  people  held 
slaves,  those  who  did  wielded  a  most  dispropor- 
tionate infiuence.  The  United  Brethren  Church, 
by  its  principles,  and  aided  by  the  fact  that  it  was 
almost  exclusively  confined  to  free  territory,  was 
anti-slavery  and  what  was  more,  was  committed  to 
abolition.  This  militated  against  the  freedom  and 
success  of  the  work  within  the  bounds  of  Virginia 
Conference.  Yet  the  ministers  worked  with  an 
enthusiastic,  even  chivalrous,  devotion,  drawing  an 
increased  pleasure  by  triumphing  over  the  hard- 
ship and  hatred  that  fell  to  their  lot.  Other  parts 
of  the  Church  grew  more  rapidly,  but  none  devel- 


(Q  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

oped  better  preachers  or  more  devoted  members. 

As  a  preacher  it  was  ever  Mr.  Glossbrenner's 
motto  to  do  his  very  best.  In  using  scripture 
quotations  he  sought  not  only  to  have  a  number 
of  proof-texts  under  each  division  of  his  sermon, 
but  to  have  the  most  suitable  and  most  con- 
vincing, and  to  give  them  accurately.  Small 
audiences  and  unfavorable  circumstances  mado 
little  difference  v^ith  him.  In  training  himself  in 
the  preparation  of  sermons,  he  made  a  study  of 
the  British  Sketches,  and  of  the  sermons  of  re- 
nowned preachers,  but  he  prepared  his  own 
outlines  and  preached  his  own  sernaons.  His 
associates  in  the  ministry  were  accustomed  to 
obtain  his  outlines  for  their  own  study  and  im- 
provement. 

In  preaching  he  was  carried  by  a  powerful 
current  of  feeling,  which  called  out  all  of  his 
powers  and  gave  great  fervor  to  his  delivery.  At 
the  same  time  the  intellectual  work,  including  the 
drudge  work  and  mechanical  part  of  bringing  his 
materials  together,  and  of  joining  the  parts  of  his 
sermon,  was  so  perfectly  done  that  in  the  moment 
of  delivery  there  was  nothing  to  check  the  rush 
of  his  thoughts,  or  deflect  the  current  of  his 
emotions.  Art  perfected  nature,  and  the  human 
blended  with  the  divine  in  that  grandest  produc- 
tion that  crowns  the  effort  of  man — a  true  gospel 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  79 

sermon.  He  had  large  interest  in  the  truth, 
sincere  sympathy  for  men,  and  a  regard  for  the 
sermon  in  its  own  character  as  a  sermon.  The 
character  of  his  preaching  was  already  formed 
and  its  high  plane  already  reached,  while  he 
was  doing  the  work  of  an  itinerant  in  Virginia 
Conference. 

One  who  knew  him  well  in  this  period  of  his 
ministry  furnishes  the  following  description: 
"  Mr.  Glossbrenner  at  this  time  was  a  sizable  man, 
noble  and  dignified  in  Ins  form  and  bearing.  His 
eye  was  full  of  fire  but  at  the  same  time  expressive 
of  love  and  grace.  His  voice  was  melodious  but 
distinct  and  ringing,  at  times  swelling  into  the 
majesty  of  heaven's  richest  tones.  He  com- 
manded the  highest  regard  of  his  audiences,  which 
he  carried  at  times  in  a  transport  of  ecstasy  to  the 
gates  of  Paradise.  He  was  not  too  precise  so  as 
to  make  the  pulpit  dull,  nor  did  his  avoiding  of 
eccentricity  produce  tameness.  In  the  arrange- 
ment and  plan  of  his  sermons  he  aimed  to  preach 
Ijy  giving  the  pulsations  of  his  own  feeling." 

A  single  example  may  be  taken  as  indicating 
the  power  of  his  preaching.  In  1845  Mr.  Gloss- 
brenner, Mr.  Markwood,  and  Mr.  Bachtel  were  the 
delegates  to  the  General  Conference,  which  met 
that  year  at  Circleville,  Ohio.  By  an  arrange- 
ment   which    the     presiding    elder    of    Virginia 


80  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

district  had  made  with  tliem,  tliey  were  to  remain 
over  Sabbath  at  Franklin,  the  county  seat  of 
Pendleton  County,  and  hold  for  him  a  quarterly 
meeting.  They  started  out  on  their  long  horse- 
back journey  and  made  the  halt  as  arranged  at 
Franklin.  Rev.  J.  W.  Fulkerson  was  the  preacher 
in  charge.  Saturday  morning  !Mr.  Bachtel 
preached  and  the  people  said  the  sermon  was 
the  best  that  they  had  over  heard.  At  night 
Mr.  Markwood  preached,  and  the  i)eople  were 
astonished  and  said  that  this  was  the  best  sermon 
they  had  ever  heard.  Sabbath  morning  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  preached  on  Governor  Felix  and 
Prisoner  Paul,  and  the  audience,  astonished  beyond 
measure,  proclaimed  this  sermon  to  be  beyond  any- 
thing to  whicli  they  had  ever  listened.  United 
States  Senator  Pennybacker,  who  was  present  in 
the  audience,  said,  "  I  can  say  o±  that  man  Gloss- 
brenner what  can  be  said  of  but  few  men — he  is 
a  good  man  and  a  great  man." 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  a  careful  shepherd,  using 
great  patience  and  wisdom  in  caring  for  those 
under  his  charge.  His  nuuiner  and  spirit  were  at 
once  a  dissuasion  against  trifling  and  evil,  and  an 
attraction  toward  that  which  was  high  and  noble. 
He  sought  to  promote  the  publishing  and  mis- 
sionary interests  of  the  church,  which  were  then 
in  their  infancy.     He  was  judicious  and  laborious 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  81 

as  a  presiding  elder,  giving  a  hallowed  character 
to  all  religions  work,  and  in  a  very  special  way 
exerting  an  inspiring  and  exalting  influence  upon 
those  who  came  into  the  ministry  under  hia 
superintendence. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  entirely  in  sympathy  with 
the  Church  to  which  he  belonged.  His  love  for 
the  church  and  zeal  for  its  advancement  sweetened 
all  of  his  hardships.  His  strength  was  not  con- 
sumed in  friction  or  weakened  by  vacillation.  He 
did  not  write  much  for  the  press,  yet  there  is  a 
series  of  five  articles  that  appeared  in  the  Religious 
Telescope,  in  the  year  1844,  that  should  not  be 
passed  over.  His  subject  was,  "  Why  I  am  a 
United  Brethren  in  Christ." 

The  following  are  the  first  paragraphs  of  the 
first  article :  "  I  received  a  letter  a  short  time 
since  from  a  Mr.  Bishop,  at  present  the  pastor  of 
an  Evano^elical  Lutheran  church  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania,  in  which  the  following  question  was 
asked:  'Brother  G.,  would  you  not  like  to  come 
to  this  country  and  labor  in  the  Evangelical  Luth- 
eran Church?'  After  asking  the  above  question 
he  informed  me  that  there  is  a  lucrative  opening 
which  he  holds  out  to  me  to  induce  me  to  do  as 
he  before  had  done — leave  the  United  Brethren 
Church  and  become  a  Lutheran.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Bishop   says  in  so   many   words   that  if  I   would 


82  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

become  a  Lutheran  I  would  be  supported  and 
would  not  have  to  bury  my  talent  and  have  my 
zeal  dampened  and  my  energies  crushed.  Now 
is  not  this  wonderful?  It  appears  that  when  ho 
wrote  to  me  he  was  not  alone.  There  was  a 
preacher  with  him  from  Madison  County,  Indiana, 
who  is  also  a  deserter  from  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  Now  these  two  deserters  no  doubt 
thought  that  by  holding  out  as  a  bribe  a  rich  con- 
gregation, they  would  make  another  ungrateful 
deserter.  But  they  have  missed  their  man  this 
time.  Now  let  me  say  once  for  all  that  I  am  a 
United  Brethren,  and  as  such  I  expect  to  live  and 
die.  I  will  now  give  my  reasons  for  being  a 
United  Broth I'cn. 

"First,  I  love  the  name.  The  name  by  which 
we  are  recognized  is  certainly  a  very  appropriate 
one — United  Brotliron  in  Christ.  Brethren  is  the 
term  used  by  the  Savior  and  the  apostles. 
And  to  speak  of  brethren  being  united  is  certainly 
a  delightful  as  well  as  a  scriptural  idea.  But  to  be 
United  Brethren  in  Christ,  how  does  that  sound 
in  view  of  tlie  declarations  of  the  Scriptures?" 

The  spirit  indicated  in  the  above  was  a  spirit 
that  could  be  trusted,  and  that  likewise  could  not 
but  bo  appreciated  and  rewarded.  Not  usually  do 
the  appreciation  and  reward  come  first.  Some 
persons  so  far  from  having  faith  to  look  to  God 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  83 

and  the  time  to  come,  cannot  look  from  the  dis- 
appointment and  shadows  of  one  day  to  the 
next  day,  to  say  nothing  of  the  light  and  jo}^  of  a 
perfected  and  completed  life. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  next  proceeded  to  state  and 
support  the  doctrines  held  by  the  Church,  first 
showing  in  the  following  words  the  importance 
of  sound  doctrine:  "I  would  lay  it  down  as  a 
correct  principle  that  a  man  should  be  fully  satis- 
fied in  his  mind  that  the  doctrines  of  the  society 
to  which  he  unites  himself  are  in  accord  with  the 
word  of  God.  If  he  does  not,  he  acts  inconsis- 
tently, and  I  might  say  dishonestly.  I  am  aware 
that  the  idea  has  got  into  the  minds  of  some,  that 
a  man  can  believe  what  he  pleases  and  yet  be  a 
Christian.  I  believe  no  such  thing.  The  apostle 
exhorts  Timothy  saying,  '  Take  heed  unto  thy- 
self and  unto  the  doctrine!'  " 

He  presented  in  these  few  articles  the  doctrines 
of  the  existence  of  God,  the  Trinity,  the  divine 
and  human  natures  of  Christ,  depravity,  the  ex- 
tent of  the  atonement,  justification,  and  the  destiny 
of  the  impenitent,  evincing  by  his  manner  of 
treatment  that  he  had  not  studied  theology  in 
vain. 

He  closed  his  last  article  with  the  following 
paragraph :  "  And  here  let  me  say  that  wherever 
regularly  commissioned  ministers  of  the  United 


84  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Brethren  Church  are  found,  we  shall  find  the  same 
doctrines  taught.  There  are  not  among  us  what 
may  be  called  old  and  new  school  brethren;  that 
is,  some  advocating  revivals  of  religion  and  others 
opposing  them;  some  advocating  the  propriety  of 
inviting  mourners  to  distinguish  themselves  as 
such  by  coming  to  the  mourners'  bench,  and  others 
in  their  opposition  misrepresenting  the  measure 
and  calling  it  a  dangerous  innovation;  some  con- 
tending for  heart-felt  religion  and  others  crying 
out  fanaticism.  No,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  United  Brethrenism  is  the  same  in  every 
state,  in  every  conference,  and  in  every  congrega- 
tion. God  grant  that  we  may  still  preserve  the 
unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bonds  of  peace." 

Before  closing  this  chapter  let  us  notice  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  in  his  home  life,  Mrs.  Glossbrenner 
sympathized  with  her  husband's  purposes  and 
work.  She  did  her  work  for  the  cause  of  Christ 
largely  through  him,  enduring  without  complaint 
the  sacrifices  and  privations  made  necessary  by 
his  calling.  After  their  marriage  they  lived  about 
a  year  with  her  parents.  They  then  moved  into 
a  log  house  on  a  small  farm  on  Middle  River,  sit- 
uated about  two  miles  from  Churchville,  the  farm 
being  the  gift  of  her  father.  These  days  of  early 
house-keeping,  with  the  industry  and  frugality 
necessary  in  the  circumstances,  were  looked  back 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  85 

upon  as  very  happy  days.  Indeed  all  hardships 
that  are  not  recognized  as  hardships  at  the  time, 
are  sweet  in  memory.  The  little  log  house  gave 
place  in  time  to  a  more  comfortable  dwelling. 
After  sojourning  between  two  and  three  years  in 
Frederick  County,  Maryland,  beginning  with  his 
appointment  to  Frederick  circuit  in  1840,  his 
residence  became  fixed  in  1843,  for  a  number  of 
years  to  come,  on  the  Middle  River  farm,  where 
he  had  first  resided.  Previously,  however,  he 
had  resided  for  a  time  in  the  Christian  Shuej' 
neighborhood. 

The  two  oldest  children  of  Jacob  J.  and  Maria 
M.  Glossbrenner,  bearing  the  names  Catharine 
Virginia  and  Eliza  Victoria,  were  born  prior  to 
the  residence  in  Maryland.  Two  children,  Wil- 
liam Otterbein  and  Cornelia  Doup,  were  born  in 
the  period  of  residence  in  Maryland.  The  former 
died  at  the  age  of  eight  weeks,  while  Mr.  Gloss- 
brenner was  away  from  home  attending  to  the 
duties  of  his  circuit.  The  two  youngest  children, 
Marie  Louise  Josephine  and  Henrietta  Clayonia, 
were  born  in  the  years  1845  and  1850  respectively. 
The  name  of  the  latter  betrays  the  father's 
partiality  for  Henry  Clay,  the  great  Whig  leader. 

The  small  farm,  which  was  always  well  kept, 
exacted  considerable  attention  and  personal  labor, 
not  to  the  exclusion,  however,  of  his  duties  as  a 


86  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

minister.  In  the  line  of  diversion,  fishing,  for 
which  the  river  near  by  furnished  excellent 
opportunities,  afforded  him  perhaps  the  greatest 
pleasure. 

An  honored  Lutheran  minister,  whose  ac- 
quaintance with  him  from  an  early  time  was  most 
intimate,  said:  "I  think  I  knew  him  well,  and 
in  all  of  the  relations  of  life,  domestic,  social, 
political,  and  religious.  I  certainly  esteemed  him 
a  model  man.  If  I  were  required  to  point  to  any 
striking  or  distinguishing  trait,  I  confess  that  I 
would  find  it  a  puzzling  task.  He  was  so 
perfectly  rounded  up  that  no  single  outstanding 
attribute,  as  in  many  good  men,  was  so  marked 
as  to  excel  or  oversbadow  any  other  one  or  all  the 
rest.  In  his  home  he  was  the  sun  of  the  sur- 
rounding group.  With  his  children,  his  habitual 
and  overflowing  kindness  insured  his  unquestioned 
authority  and,  on  their  part,  cheerful  obedience. 
To  crown  tbe  felicities  of  his  home  life,  the  Lord 
gave  to  him  a  companion  eminently  fitted  to 
share  the  rule  and  satisfactions  of  this  model 
household." 

In  the  social  circle  he  took  delight  and  was 
agreeable,  having  much  of  the  spirit  to  please 
others  rather  than  himself.  He  showed  kindly 
attention  to  the  children  in  the  families  wdiere  he 
visited,    being    sincere,    however,    rather     than 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  87 

profuse,  in  his  attention.  Familiarly,  by  the 
children,  he  was  called  Uncle  Gloss.  Older 
persons  saved  time  by  the  same  abbreviation, 
calling  him  Brother  Gloss.  The  abridging  or 
transforming  of  names  for  convenience  or  from 
friendship  is  a  marked  Virginia  custom.  It  may 
be  proper  to  note  that  Mr.  Glossbrenner,  by  his 
temperament,  by  his  residence  in  Virginia,  and 
more  particularly  through  his  marriage,  became 
a  true  Virginian,  possessing  the  manner  and 
spirit  of  which  that  name  is  the  symbol. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Delegate  to  General  Conference  of  1837 — Original  Char- 
acter of  the  Church — Condition  at  this  time — A 
Constitution  Adopted — Delegate  to  General  Conference 
of  1 84 1 — Debate  on  Constitution — Mr.  Glossbrenner's 
Attitude — Clause  on  Amendments — Acceptance  of  the 
Constitution — Other  Acts  of  the  Conference. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner's  part  in  the  General  Con- 
ferences of  1837  and  1841  and  his  relations  to 
the  Church  in  its  extended  character,  have  been 
reserved  for  a  separate  chapter.  It  was  required 
by  the  General  Conference  of  1833  that  the  annual 
conferences  put  in  nomination  four  persons  as 
delegates  to  the  next  General  Conference,  the  two 
securing  the  highest  number  of  votes  to  be  the 
delegates.  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  thus  nominated, 
and  along  with  Rev.  Jacob  Rhinehart  was  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  ensuing  General  Conference, 
which  met  on  the  9th  of  May,  1837,  at  German- 
town,  Ohio.  To  this  time  his  work  had  been 
confined  almost  cxckisivcly  to  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land. Aside  from  the  bishops  he  had  met  few  of 
the  representative  men  of  the  Church.  Sixteen 
delegates  representing  eight  conferences  were  in 
attendance.      The  bishops    present  were   Henry 

88 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  89 

Kumler,  sen.  and  Samuel  Hiestand,  William 
Brown  being  absent.  The  engrossing  subject  of 
the  session  was  the  adoption  of  a  constitution. 
To  understand  the  action  of  the  conference  it  will 
be  necessary  to  take  a  view  of  the  origin,  compo- 
sition, and  tendencies  of  the  Church. 

The  Church  at  this  time  numbered  probably 
about  twenty-one  thousand  members.  The  organ- 
ization and  methods  of  the  Church  were  far  from 
being  complete  or  settled.  The  Church  in  its 
distinct  ecclesiastical  character  originated  in  the 
year  1800.  For  the  period  before  that,  we  speak 
of  a  religious  movement,  which,  from  1789  tended 
decidedly  toward  denominational  character.  The 
main  influence  in  the  founding  of  the  Church 
came  from  those  who  were  actually  or  traditionally 
connected  with  the  German  Reformed  Church. 
In  1789,  out  of  seven  preachers  present  at  a 
conference,  five  were  from  the  Reformed  side, 
the  other  two  being  Mennonites.  In  1800,  eight 
certainly  and  probably  nine  of  the  fourteen 
preachers  present  at  the  conference  were  from  the 
Reformed  side,  the  others  being  Mennonites. 
After  1800  the  preachers  and  members  in  general, 
came  to  a  much  less  extent  from  the  Reformed 
side,  and  to  a  proportionately  greater  extent  from 
the  Mennonites  and  from  other  bodies,  or  from 
outside  all  denominational  lines.     The  result  was 


90  LIFE    OF    GL08SPRENNER. 

that  almost  a  new  founding:  of  the  Cliurcli  became 
necessary,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
Otterboin  and  his  associates  liad  given  to  the 
Clmrcli  :;t  the  iirst  v^'vy  liitic  of  formal  cliaracter. 
The  Meinionites,  or  more  i>ro}»er!y  the  heteroge- 
neons  elements  tliat  fonnd  their  way  into  the 
Church,  resisted  such  formal  character.  A  regard 
for  ex})edient  measures  in  building  up  the  work 
of  the  Church  ])r(>voke<l  suspicion.  Many  came 
into  the  Churcli  because  of  the  absence  of  binding 
customs  and  constraining  forms,  and  these  would 
of  course  be  especially  strenuous  in  resisting  their 
introduction.  At  the  same  time  those  forms  that 
had  imperceptibly  l)een  adopted  were  rigidly 
adhered  to.  From  one  source,  however,  there 
appeared  a  positive  shaping  tendency.  The  Men- 
nonite  element  in  the  Church  believed  intensely 
in  righteousness,  and  were  inclined  to  build  up  or 
insure  righteousness  by  particular  and  stringent 
rules.  Thus  the  tendency  to  oppose  fixed  forms 
had  its  antithetic  elements. 

In  order  to  understand  the  legislation  of  the 
Church,  it  is  necessary  to  understand  also  some- 
thing of  the  intense  religious  spirit  of  the  Church. 
The  doetrines,  religious  lite,  and  customs  of  the 
Church  were  adhered  to  by  the  people  with  a  zeal 
which  careless  or  formal  Christians  regarded  as 
fanaticism.     Unionizing  movements  that  gave  an 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  91 

unqualified  regard  to  the  old  churches  were 
condemned,  or  regarded  with  distrust.  When  a 
few  years  later,  that  grand  institution,  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance  was  formed,  the  United  Brethren 
Church  refused  to  send  delegates.  Bishop  Russel 
wrote,  "How  can  we  with  the  principles  of  our 
church  before  us,  unite  with  slave-holding 
Methodists,  with  Calvinists,  and  with  Lutherans 
wlio  hold  to  baptismal  regeneration?  An  object 
of  the  convention  is  to  drive  the  old  pope  from 
his  seat,  which  in  my  opinion  would  only  remain 
vacant  until  the  young  pope,  who  is  now  sucking 
the  breasts  of  the  Protestant  churches,  is  weaned.'' 
There  was  also  suspicion  as  to  an  educated 
ministry,  lest  the  formalism  with  which  it  had 
been  associated  in  the  past  should  take  the 
place  of  religious  life.  But  these  things,  even 
when  viewed  in  the  most  unfavorable  light,  were 
but  the  weaknesses  or  defects  connected  with 
beliefs  and  experiences  of  essential  importance. 
Better  have  tlie  weaknesses  accompanying  zealous 
convictions  than  to  have  the  amiability  that 
cherishes  nothing  and  has  nothing  for  which  to 
contend.  The  real  life  and  strength  of  the  Church 
are  shown  by  the  triumph,  through  a  long  course 
of  years,  over  many  obstacles,  and  the  development 
of  the  character  and  instrumentalities  suited  to 
the  mission  of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ. 


92  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

At  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1837  there  was,  especially  on  the  part  of  some,  a 
desire  to  have  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
Church  expressed  in  a  constitution.  Old  churches, 
originating  in  Europe,  may  have  to  content"  them- 
selves within  the  forms  that  they  have  inherited. 
Only  an  American  product,  belonging,  too,  to  the 
nineteenth  century,  can  cut  its  garment  to  suit 
its  needs,  and  form  its  instruments  to  suit  its 
occasions.  In  our  day  and  country  the  same  in- 
telligence that  originates,  is  the  intelligence  that 
fashions  the  form  and  completes  the  structure. 

A  leading  spirit  in  the  conference  was  Rev. 
AVilliam  R.  Rhinehart,  who,  while  not  a  member, 
had  great  influence  in  view  of  his  being  the  editor 
of  the  Religious  Telcscoj^e,  and  was  made  the 
secretary  of  the  conference.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  session  Mr.  Rhinehart  presented  a  written 
constitution  for  the  government  of  the  Church, 
and  prayed  its  adoption.  The  constitution  was 
favorably  received,  and  apparently  without 
amendment,  was  adopted  by  the  unanimous  voice 
of  the  conference.  The  conference  felt  that  in 
adopting  the  final  article  of  the  constitution, 
which  declared  that  no  subsequent  General 
Conference  could  amend  the  constitution  without 
a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  conference,  they  had 
exceeded   their   authority;    so   in   a   circular  ap- 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  93 

p ended  to  the  constitution  the  following  language 
was  used :  "  We  are  well  aware  that  we  have 
transcended  the  bounds  given  us  by  our  discipline 
which  [transcending  of  bounds]  will  be  found  in 
the  constitution,  article  four,  section  two,  declar- 
ing that  the  said  constitution  can  neither  be 
altered  nor  amended  without  a  majority  of  two 
thirds  of  a  General  Conference.  The  object  of 
this  circular  is  (feeling  that  the  government  of 
the  Church  is  not  as  firm  as  it  ought  to  be)  to  give 
notice  to  our  Church  throughout  the  Union  that 
Ave  intend  to  present  a  memorial  to  the  next 
General  Conference,  praying  them  to  ratify  the 
constitution  now  adopted  according  to  [making 
it  binding  under]  article  four,  section  two." 
Beyond  the  securing  of  definiteness,  fixed  charac- 
ter, and  harmony  of  practice,  the  constitution 
presented  little  that  was  specially  significant. 
The  only  radical  departure  was  that  given  in  the 
article  on  amendments,  and  that  was  referred  to 
the  next  General  Conference  for  ratification. 

The  constitution,  though  not  binding  under  the 
final  article,  was  yet  designed  to  be  binding  from 
the  time  of  its  adoption.  The  constitution  began, 
"  We,  as  members  [not  we  the  members],  of  the 
Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ"  ordain, 
and  so  forth.  Thus  the  constitution  did  not 
purport   to   come    from   the    membership.     The 


94  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNEK. 

members  of  the  conference,  according  to  previous 
resolution,  came  forward  on  the  next  morning 
after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  and  soleiiin- 
ly  appended  tlieir  names,  which  would  not  have 
been  done  in  the  case  of  a  proposed  constitution. 
Then,  by  resolution,  the  number  of  delegates  from 
the  different  annual  conferences  to  the  next 
General  Conference  was  fixed  in  a  jpro  7'ata  way 
in  harmony  with  the  constitution.  Further,  in 
the  printed  discipline,  edited  by  William  R. 
Rhinehart  and  William  Hanby,  the  two  persons 
who  were  foremost  in  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution, at  the  place  where  the  section  had  stood 
in  previous  disciplines,  on  the  members  con- 
stituting the  General  Conference,  the  note  was 
thrown  in,  "  See  constitution,"  just  as  was  the 
case  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of 
1841,  and  has  continued  down  to  the  present  time. 
It  stands  also  as  a  fact  that  the  provisions  of  the 
constitution  in  whatever  form  they  applied  in 
the  interval  before  the  General  Conference  of 
1841,  were  as  consistently  adhered  to  as  in  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  could  at  all  have  been 
expected.  There  is  not  wanting,  however,  decisive 
testimony  as  to  the  intention  of  the  conference. 
Rev.  William  Hanby,  a  member  of  the  conference 
and  one  of  the  editors  of  the  discipline,  in  1839 
while  serving  as  editor  of  the  Religious   Telescope, 


LIFK    OF    GLOSSBRENNEK.  95 

wrote  the  following,  the  extract  being  a  part 
of  a  reply  to  a  question  of  Rev.  William  R. 
Coursey :  "  Here  we  must  confess  that  we  do 
not  understand  Brother  Coursey,  unless  he  is  of 
the  opinion  that  the  present  constitution  is  void 
and  of  no  efiect.  If  so,  we  think  he  is  mistaken. 
It  was  not,  by  any  means,  considered  that  the  con- 
stitution would  be  null  and  void  for  four  years,  and 
that  therefore  a  petition  should  be  offered  to  the 
next  General  Conference,  praying  for  the  enact- 
ment of  a  certain  specification,  as  set  forth  in  the 
circular  of  the  discipline.  General  Conference  did 
by  uo  means  doubt  their  right  to  gather  up  the 
detached  principles  of  government  as  contained 
in  the  discipline  and  throw  them  together  in  the 
form  of  a  constitution,  and  even  make  amend- 
ments to  them,  but  they  did  doubt  the  right  of 
declaring  that  that  constitution  should  be  neither 
altered  nor  amended  without  a  majority  of  two 
thirds  of  a  General  Conference,  and  that  was,  we 
think,  the  only  object  of  the  circular,  and  that  is 
the  only  specification  set  forth  in  the  circular. 
Presuming,  then,  that  the  constitution  is  equally 
valid  with  other  parts  of  the  discipline,  we  refer 
Brother  Coursey  to  the  second  article  in  the 
constitution  as  exhibiting  a  satisfactory  manner 
of  procedure." 

Other    measures    looking   to  the  stability  and 


96  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

upbuilding  of  the  Church  were  adopted  by  the 
conference  of  1837,  indicating  a  confidence  in  the 
permanence  and  future  success  of  the  Church. 
A  constitution  was  drafted  and  adopted  for  the 
publishing  work  of  the  Church.  Methods  for 
the  secure  holding  of  the  church  property  received 
attention,  as  also  the  proper  methods  for  carrying 
forward  the  work  of  building  church  houses. 
Henry  Kumler  and  Henry  Hiestand  were  re-elected 
bishops,  and  Jacob  Erb  was  chosen  for  the  first 
time.  Extensive  revivals  prevailed  throughout 
the  Church  during  the  ensuing  quadrennium,  and 
church  spirit  was  carried  to  an  advanced  point. 
The  term  "United  Brethrenism,"  a  term  not 
encouraged  by  all,  came  into  quite  general  use. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  along  with  Rev.  William  R. 
Coursey,  was  elected  to  represent  Virginia  Con- 
ference in  the  General  Conference  of  1841.  The 
General  Conference  met  on  the  10th  of  May  at 
the  Dresbach  Church,  Pickaway  County,  Ohio. 
Bishops  Kumler  and  Erb  were  both  present. 
Bishop  Hiestand  had  died  three  years  before. 
Twenty-one  delegates,  five  more  than  in  1837, 
were  in  attendance.  The  delegates  were  men,  as 
a  rule,  of  much  more  experience  and  agressiveness 
than  were  the  delegates  of  1837.  John  Russel, 
John  Coons,  H.  G.  Spayth,  George  Miller,  Joshua 
Montgomery,  and  Henry  Kumler,  jr.,  were  among 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  97 

the  number.      Sixteen  of  the  delegates  had  not. 
been  present  as  delegates  in  1837.     On  the  after- 
noon of  the  second  day  the  subject  of  a  constitution 
was  brought  up. 

About  a  half  dozen  short  articles  on  the  subject 
appeared  iu  the  Religious  Telescope  in  the  years 
1840  and  1841,  being  almost  entirely  confined 
to  the  desirability  of  a  constitution  and  bearing 
almost  exclusively  upon  the  proposed  ratification 
of  the  constitution  of  18-37.  In  a  published  article 
Rev.  Joshua  Montgomery  set  forth  the  spirit  of 
a  considerable  number  of  ministers  in  the  Church. 
He  wrote:  "Let  us  have  a  constitution  now 
while  our  Church,  laity  and  ministers,are  disposed 
to  be  governed  by  the  true  spirit  of  Christ  and 
his  word,  and  then  should  a  part  or  all  of  us 
depart  from  this  spirit,  still  no  rule  in  discipline 
could  be  enacted  contrary  to  the  constitution  until 
that  constitution  is  altered.  Such  alteration  would 
elicit  discussion,  and  the  laity  of  the  Church  who 
always  have  had  and  always  should  have  the 
appointing  of  delegates  to  that  body  which  is 
to  frame,  or  have  the  altering  of  said  con- 
stitution, would  have  an  eye  upon  the  man  or 
men  who  would  so  alter  or  amend  the  constitution 
as  to  be  derogatory  to  the  Bible  .  .  .  and  thus  we 
may  be  saved  from  that  domineering  spirit  that 
stalked  at  noonday  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  or 


98  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBKEXNKR. 

that  is  now  prevalent  wherever  the  same  unholy 
and  unscriptural  church  government  rules  the 
people."  The  fact  that  the  office  or  bishop  was 
recognized  in  the  Church  caused  man}'  to  take  a 
decided  attitude  against  episcopal  arrogance  and 
usurpation.  In  his  article,  Rev,  J.  C.  Whiter 
desired  the  constitution  to  remain  unchanged, 
except  that  in  addition  to  forbidding  changes 
except  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  a  General  Confer- 
ence, he  would  have  thrown  in  that  no  rule 
"  contrary  to  the  word  of  God  "  should  be  enacted. 
Rev.  H.  G.  Spayth  and  Rev.  William  R.  Course}' 
wrote  articles  opposing  a  constitution  from  con- 
siderations drawn  from  the  history  of  the  Church. 
According  to  their  view,  the  Bible  and  the  provi- 
dence of  God  had  given  the  Church  being,  and 
guided  it  thus  far,  and  would  be  sufficient  for  the 
future.  This  is  the  sumnuiry  of  the  discussion 
prior  to  the  General  Conference. 

In  the  resolutions  and  discussions  on  the 
subject  of  a  constitution,  on  the  General  Con- 
ference floor,  no  reference  whatever  was  made  to 
the  instrument  of  1837.  How  this  came  to  be 
thus  is  not  altogether  clear.  A  few  considerations 
may  explain  the  matter  somewhat.  In  the  first 
place,  a  very  limited  number  had  had  anything  to 
do  with  the  earlier  instrument.  Again  the  often 
referred-to  circular  was  so  involved  and  unintel- 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER,  99 

ligible  ill  its  wording  as  to  seem  to  have  reference 
to  the  body  of  the  constitution  itself,  rather 
than  exclusively  to  the  article  on  amendments. 
Still  further,  some  of  those  who  regarded  as 
valid  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  with 
the  exception  of  the  article  on  amendments, 
reserved  the  name  constitution  for  the  instru- 
ment when  so  ratified  as  to  put  it  beyond  the 
realm  of  leo-islation.  Thus  bewilderino^  and 
conflicting  positions  were  taken.  Then  there 
were  some  who  were  opposed  to  a  constitution, 
who  began  to  speak  of  the  constitution  as  not  yet 
in  forcCo  There  came  to  be  no  little  confusion  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  quadrennium.  In  some  of 
the  annual  conference  districts  not  all  of  the 
provisions  of  the  constitution  of  1837  were 
observed  in  the  election  of  delegates  in  the  fall 
of  1840,  but  in  none  of  them  were  all  of  tlu' 
provisions  previously  in  force  obeyed.  Some  sa^^' 
in  the  confused  state  into  which  things  had  come, 
an  opportunity  for  a  constitution  of  a  difi'erent 
character.  Thus  between  those  who  desired  no 
constitution  and  those  who  desired  a  constitution 
embracing  difi'erent  features,  the  constitution  of 
1837  went  to  the  ground.  Rev.  William  E. 
E-hinehart,  who  stood  so  closely  identified  with 
the  constitution  of  1837,  had  lost  much  of  his 
influence,  having  been  constrained  to   resign  his 


100  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

position  as  editor  of  the  Religious  Telescope  iu  the 
middle  of  his  term. 

The  discussion  began  on  the  motion  "  that  a 
constitution  for  the  better  government  of  the 
Church  be  adopted."  J.  Montgomery,  speaking 
in  favor  of  a  constitution,  said  that  "  the  object 
of  a  constitution  is  to  guard  against  apostasy;  to 
sustain  a  balance  of  power  between  the  ministry 
and  the  laity;  that  it  is  designed  to  establish 
points  of  polity  which  should  stand  unalterable." 
H.  G.  Spayth,  J.  McGaw,  A.  Biddle,  J.  J.  Gloss- 
brenner,  and  others,  from  the  customary  argu- 
ments, stood  opposed  to  a  constitution.  When  the 
vote  was  taken,  fifteen  voted  in  the  affirmative 
and  seven  in  the  negative,  the  bishop  not  in  the 
I'hair,  casting  his  vote  also.  It  was  believed  b}' 
the  minority  that  what  had  been  sufficient  in 
the  past  would  suffice  for  the  future,  and  that 
there  was  peril  in  anything  that  would  interfere 
with  flexibility  and  an  unfettered  choice  of 
methods  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church,  amidst  the 
contingencies  that  the  future  might  reveal.  But 
when  they  were  outvoted  not  one  of  them  was 
sullen  or  rebellious.  A  committee  of  nine,  one 
from  each  conference,  was  a})pointed  "  to  draft  a 
constitution."  The  committee  consisted  of  J. 
Russel,  J.  J.  Glossbrenner,  George  Miller,  A. 
Biddle,  H.  G.  Spayth,  J.   Montgomery,  William 


LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  101 

Davis,  H.  Bonebrake,  and  H.  Kumler,  jr.  When 
in  1849  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  asked  why,  if  he 
was  opposed  to  a  constitution,  he  served  on  the 
committee  to  draft  one,  his  answer  was,  "  If  there 
was  to  be  a  constitution  I  wanted  to  help  to  make 
it  as  good  as  possible."  So  perhaps  thought  the 
others;  for  a  number  of  the  delegates  who  were 
opposed  to  a  constitution  served  on  the  com- 
mittee. The  constitution  as  drawn  up  and  finally 
adopted  by  a  large  majority  left  out  the  jpro  rata 
principle  of  the  constitution  of  1837,  included 
among  new  items  prohibition  of  connection  with 
secret  combinations  and  slavery,  and  in  the  last 
article  made  changes  impossible  "  unless  by  re- 
quest of  two  thirds  of  the  whole  society."  The 
statement  that  the  form  drawn  up  in  1837  was 
now  adopted  "after  some  slight  amendments,"  is  as 
unhistoric  as  the  statement  that  the  form  of  1837 
was  a  kind  of  "  conventional  constitution,"  which 
the  conference  of  1841  was  "to  adopt,  amend  or 
reject."  This  theory  was  first  hastily  announced 
on  the  floor  of  the  General  Conference  of  1849 
when  three  delegates  assailed  the  validity  of  the 
constitution.  As  all  criticism  soon  ceased,  this 
theory  unchallenged  was  generally  embraced, 
even  receiving  the  sanction  of  those  who  had 
previously  announced  a  different  view.  The 
committee  found  it  convenient  to  use  some  parts 


102  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

of  the  disregarded  constitution.  Some  elements 
were  engrafted  from  the  previous  discipUne.  The 
change  of  expression  from  "Freemasonry"  to 
"secret  combinations"  was  made  with  special 
reference  to  Odd  Fellowship  which  was  just  then 
coming  to  the  attention  of  the  Church.  The  most 
striking  feature  of  the  constitution  of  1841,  that 
which  gave  to  all  of  the  others  their  importance, 
was  the  article  in  regard  to  amendments. 

What  was  meant  by  the  language  that  no 
alteration  should  be  made  in  the  constitution 
"  unless  by  request  of  two  thirds  of  the  whole 
society  "  could  not  have  been  entirely  clear  at  the 
time.  As  far  as  the  Church  had  any  custom  for 
the  expression  of  the  will  of  the  laity,  it  was 
through  the  selection  of  the  ministerial  delegates 
vvho  should  represent  them  in  the  General  Con- 
ference. The  sole  expression  of  the  people  in  the 
constitution  of  1841  was  of  this  character.  There 
were  no  petitions  in  advance  and  there  was  no 
submission  to  vote  afterward.  We  may  readily 
conceive  that  in  view  of  the  absence  of  precedent 
and  experience  in  obtaining  expressions  from  the 
laity,  it  would  be  difficult  to  give  a  statement  of 
the  mode  by  which  a  suitable  expression  could  be 
reached.  The  General  Conference  of  1833  had 
forbidden  the  enrolling  of  members  where  there 
was  opposition.     The  General  Conference  of  1837 


LIFE    OF    (iLi.tSSBRKNNEK.  103 

made  the  apportionment  of  delegates  to  be  elected 
to  the  next  General  Conference  because,  as  one 
of  the  delegates  expressed  it,  "Some  of  the  annual 
conferences  hadi  conscientious  scruples  about 
numbering  their  Israel."  It  was  not  till  1857 
that  the  Church  presumed  to  give  any  statistics 
relating  to  the  entire  membership. 

If  the  word  request  did  not  mean  an  expres- 
sion from  the  laity  through  their  ministerial 
delegates,  it  evidently  is  to  be  taken  in  the  sense 
of  vote.  It  was  at  once  translated  into  the 
German  word  Stimmenzahl  which  carries  that 
meaning.  The  expression  "  whole  society  "  was 
sometimes  used  to  distinguish  the  membership  in 
general  from  the  ministry  or  the  General  Confer- 
ence. The  constitution  of  1837  gave  the  power  of 
making  changes  to  the  General  Conference  com- 
posed of  ministerial  delegates;  the  constitution 
of  1841  gave  the  power  of  making  changes  to  the 
membership  throughout  the  Church.  The  mean- 
ing would  therefore  be  a  two-thirds  vote  in  the 
usual  interpretation  of  the  word.  However,  if 
the  word  request  should  be  pressed,  the  meaning 
would  certainly  be  an  expression  of  the  member- 
ship through  the  choosing  of  the  delegates  who 
should  represent  them  in  the  General  Conference. 
In  this  manner  the  sentiments  of  the  Church  had 
hitherto  been  expressed. 


104  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Some  of  the  delegates  to  the  conference  of  1841 
said,  years  afterward,  that  it  was  the  intention  to 
make  changes  impossible.  A  delegate  yet  living 
says  that  he  doubts  not  that  a  few  of  the  delegates 
at  the  time  preferred  to  have  such  a  constitution, 
but  that  it  was  not  his  view  that  they  regarded 
their  desire  as  accomplished.  Just  before  the 
General  Conference  a  leading  member  held  up  to 
scorn  the  idea  that  church  government  had  "  ar- 
rived at  perfection,"  and  that  a  form  that  "  could 
not  be  altered  or  amended"  should  be  received 
from  the  "  chair  of  dictatorial  infallibility."  No 
instrument  that  a  number  of  persons  have  had  a 
part  in  framing  is  to  be  interpreted  as  though  it 
were  the  work  of  one  person.  There  may  be 
elements  that  it  is  necessary  to  reconcile.  A  chief 
justice  of  the  United  States  has  decided  that  even 
the  intention  of  those  framing  laws  is  not  of  itself 
decisive  as  to  what  the  construing  should  be. 
The  language  and  the  drift  are  of  the  first 
moment.  The  chief  thing  in  this  case  is  that 
the  article  in  question  stands  as  the  article  regu- 
lating amendments,  aiul  as  such  requires  a 
construction  making  amendments  feasible. 

Undoubtedly  the  principles  of  the  constitution, 
as  far  as  their  operation  brought  them  into  notice, 
were  generally  approved.  Whatever  might  be 
developed  afterward,  there  was  then   nothing  to 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  105 

.show  that  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  were 
not  well  advised.  The  party  that  did  not  believe 
that  the  future  could  be  trusted  and  that  a 
formal  provision  might  prevent  apostasy,  and 
the  party  that  believed  the  Bible  and  the  eternal 
Spirit  were  the  guide  and  pledge  of  the  church 
of  Christ,  went  on  with  their  work  in  harmony. 
Happy  would  it  be  if  the  absence  of  mere 
technicality  and  obstinate  literalness  might  be  as 
conspicuous  in  the  present  interpretation  of  the 
constitution  as  it  was  in  regard  to  the  method  of 
adoption. 

The  extent  and  diversity  of  material  incorpo- 
rated into  the  constitution  are  truly  remarkable. 
On  the  side  of  the  expedient  in  method,  we  have 
the  itinerant  plan  and  the  guaranteeing  of  the 
rights  of  local  preachers.  On  the  side  of  the 
moral  in  practice,  we  have  the  prohibition  of  con- 
nection with  secret  societies  and  slavery.  In  the 
statement  of  religious  truth,  we  have  the  confes- 
sion of  faith  guarded  by  a  provision  of  the 
constitution.  A  striking  provision  also  is  the 
placing  of  the  government  of  the  Cliurch  in 
the  hands  of  ministerial  elders,  no  lay  elders  being 
recognized.  For  a  new  people  just  entering  upon 
their  history,  especially  for  a  people  that  started 
out  in  opposition  to  all  existing  forms,  these 
features  are  indeed  remarkable.     The  Mennonite 


lUG  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

strictiiesij  of  life  and  the  cleceptiveness  by  which 
it  came  to  be  supposed  that  formal  elements  could 
arrest  decline  of  piety,  furnish,  at  least  in  part, 
the  explanation. 

At  the  session  of  General  Conference  in  1841, 
Mr.  Glossbrenner  moved  that  the  salary  of 
traveling  preachers  be  increased.  The  motion 
prevailed  and  the  salary  of  a  single  preacher 
was  made  one  hundred  dollars,  and  that  of  a 
married  preacher  two  hundred  dollars.  He 
also  introduced  a  resolution  forbidding  laymen 
as  well  as  preachers  to  vend  or  distill  intoxi- 
cating liquors.  This  motion  also  prevailed. 
He  also  took  an  active  interest  in  the  adoption 
of  a  resolution  by  which  discussion  of  the  slavery 
question  in  the  Religious  Telescope  was  forbidden. 
Some  of  the  members  favored  the  resolution 
from  the  apprehension  that  if  abolition  were 
advocated,  state  and  national  authorities  would 
interfere  with  the  circulation  of  the  Religious 
Telescope  in  slave  territory.  Others  feared  that 
in  the  precarious  financial  condition  of  the 
publishing  ofiice,  if  division  of  feeling  were 
caused,  the  paper  could  not  be  issued  at  all. 
Some,  however,  bitterly  opposed  the  resolution. 
By  the  action  of  the  conference,  a  constitution 
for  a  general  missionary  society  was  formed. 
While  Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  a  delegate  in  the 


LIFE   OP   GLOSSBRENNER.  107 

General  Conferences  of  1837  and  1841,  and  was 
active  and  prominent  in  the  latter  especially,  his 
own  part  in  ttiese  conferences  was  not  such  as  to 
justify  comprehensive  description  of  the  acts  of 
these  conferences:  yet  for  the  better  understand- 
ing of  his  work  and  relations  in  the  periods 
following,  a  somewhat  extended  account  of  these 
significant  conferences  seemed  important. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Delegate  to  General  Conference  of  1845 — Educational 
Work  Begun — Elected  Bishop — East  District — West 
District — Otterbein  University  Founded — Virginia  Con- 
ference in  1847 — Camp-meeting  Sermon — Middle  Dis- 
trict— Spirit  of  the  Church — Aversion  to  Lauding  Men 
— General  Conference  of  1849  —  Temperance  —  Secret 
Societies — Slaverj^ — Re-elected  Bishop — Assigned  West 
District — Holds  Conferences  on  INIiddle  District — West 
District — East  District — Execution  of  the  law  on  Sla- 
very— West  District. 

The  ninth  General  Conference  assembled  at 
Circleville,  Ohio,  May  12,  1845.  Bishops  H. 
Kuniler,  sen.,  II.  Knmler,  jr.,  and  John  Coons 
were  present;  Bishop  Erb  was  absent.  J.  J.  Gloss- 
brenner,  J.  Bachtel,  and  J.  Markwood  represented 
Virginia  Conference.  The  Church  was  everywhere 
extending  its  bounds,  and  many  interests  in  the 
newer  as  well  as  in  the  older  parts  of  the  Church 
were  to  be  cared  for.  A  number  of  new  confer- 
ences were  constituted.  The  St.  Joseph,  Illinois, 
and  Iowa  were  carved  out  of  the  bounds  of  the 
Wabash.  An  additional  conference  was  formed 
by  the  dividing  of  Pennsylvania  Conference. 
Provision  was  also  made  by  which  White  River 
Conference  was  set  oft'  from  Indiana  Conference 

108 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  109 

in  the  following  year.  Thus  five  new  conferences 
were  constituted.  The  delegates  felt  that  much 
of  the  future  success  of  the  Church  was  in  their 
hands.  They  sought  to  build  soundly  as  well  as 
rapidly.  Publishing  interests  received  careful 
attention.  Four  years  before,  Mr.  Glossbrenner 
had  voted  for  restricting  the  discussion  on  slavery 
in  the  Religious  Telescope.  lie  now  voted  to  re- 
move the  restriction;  the  motion  prevailed, though 
nine  votes  were  cast  in  the  negative.  He  voted 
in  favor  of  all  measures  looking  to  a  better  quali- 
fied ministry. 

On  the  motion  to  refer  to  the  annual  confer- 
ences the  proposition  to  found  an  institution  of 
learning,  he  voted  in  the  afiirmative.  To  secure 
the  passage  of  such  a  resolution  at  this  time  re- 
quired the  explicit  understanding  that  it  was  not 
a  part  of  the  purpose  to  train  men  specifically  for 
the  ministry.  This  was  the  first  measure  that  the 
Church  had  taken  looking  to  the  education  of 
her  sons  and  daughters  under  her  own  auspices. 
Under  the  license  of  this  resolution,  Otterbein 
University  was  founded  the  following  year,  and 
other  institutions  were  founded  in  quick  succes- 
sion. Mr.  Glossbrenner  saw  the  propriety  of 
establishing  and  sustaining  these  institutions,  and 
later  came  to  see  the  importance  of  institutions 
for  the  special  training  of  candidates  for  the  Chris- 


110  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

tian  ministry.  But  in  these  regards  it  can  not 
be  said  that  he  moved  much  more  rapidly  than 
the  body  of  the  Church;  and  thus  to  tliose  of  the 
most  advanced  aims,  who  were  struggling 
with  great  difficulties  in  building  up  educational 
institutions,  he  seemed  not  to  have  sufficient 
interest  in  the  educational  work  of  the  Church. 
This  seeming  lack  was  due  in  large  part  to  quali- 
lications  that  he  threw  in.  He  Avould  have  the 
educational  work  advanced  in  such  a  way  and  at 
such  a  rate  as  to  conserve  the  elements  that  had 
characterized  the  Church  in  its  origin,  and  as 
would  hold  the  diiferent  classes  in  the  Church 
together  under  the  bond  of  common  sympathy. 
In  one  point  of  view,  his  moderate  course  has 
been  justified  by  facts.  Some  of  the  young  peo- 
ple of  the  Church,  either  because  of  their  real  or 
supposed  liberal  education,  or  because  of  the 
slowness  of  the  Church  in  moving  on  progressive 
lines,  have  become  alienated  and  lost  to  the 
Church.  Thus  have  the  efl[brts  of  the  Church 
been  repaid. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  voted  with  the  minority 
against  a  resolution  that  the  rule  on  temperance 
should  remain  as  it  was.  The  minority  demanded 
more  advanced  measures.  Early  in  the  session, 
in  consequence  of  a  proposition  to  change  slight- 
ly  the   language  of  the  confession  of  faith,  Mr. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  Ill 

Glossbrenner  moved  that  iu  view  of  the  constitu- 
tion the  General  Conference  had  no  right  to  revise 
the  confession  of  faith.  The  motion  prevailed  by  a 
vote  of  fifteen  against  eight.  This  fidelity  to  the 
constitution  and  laws  of  the  Church  was  thorough- 
ly characteristic,  and  will  appear  hereafter  on 
many  and  diverse  occasions. 

At  the  hands  of  this  General  Conference  Mr. 
Glossbrenner  received  his  first  election  as  bishop. 
He  was  already  fairly  well  known  to  the  Church. 
Many  of  the  ministry  and  laity  of  Virginia 
Conference  had  become  distributed  through  the 
West.  He  had  been  a  delegate  to  three  succes- 
sive General  Conferences.  It  does  not  seem, 
however,  that  he  had  been  present  at  any  annual 
conference  sessions,  aside  from  those  of  Virginia 
Conference,  with  the  exception  of  a  visit  that  he 
made  to  Scioto  Conference  in  connection  with  his 
attendance  at  the  General  Conference  of  1841. 
His  ability  as  a  preacher,  his  orderly  method,  his 
thorough  sympathy  with  the  Church,  along  with 
his  modest  bearing,  commended  him  to  the  dele- 
gates as  one  not  unworthy  of  the  high  and 
responsible  ofiice  of  bishop  in  the  church  of 
Christ.  He  had  not  yet  completed  his  thirty-third 
year.  He  had  been  fourteen  years  a  preacher, 
however,  and  had  stood  for  twelve  years  an  elder, 
having  served  five  years  as  presiding  elder.    The 


112  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

fact  that  the  old  men  of  the  couference  gave  him 
their  support  would  seem  to  indicate  that  youth 
in  his  case  was  no  great  fault.  His  associates 
were  William  Hanby,  who  had  previously  given 
excellent  satisfaction  as  editor  of  the  Religious 
Telescope,  and  J.  Russel,  a  man  of  strong  char- 
acter and  original  methods,  whose  early  home 
was  in  Washington  County,  Maryland.  JSTone  of 
the  bishops  elected  had  seen  previous  service  in 
the  office  of  bishop.  New  hands  were  at  the 
wlicel. 

The  Churt'll  was  divided  by  the  bishops  into 
three  "dioceses."  The  first  year  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  presided  over  the  conferences  in  the  East, 
consisting  of  Virginia,  East  Pennsylvania,  West 
Pennsylvania,  and  Allegheny.  The  bishops  were 
to  be  itinerants  as  well  as  bishops.  They  were  to 
spend  their  time  preaching  and  laboring  in  vari- 
ous ways  on  their  districts,  and  were  also  to 
rotate  on  their  districts.  They  were  in  conse- 
quence to  receive  the  regular  pay  of  itinerants. 
Hitherto  there  had  been  no  regular  provision  for 
the  support  of  bishops.  If  there  was  money  left 
from  some  other  fund,  they  sometimes  received  a 
meagre  allowance  for  expenses.  Now  collections 
were  to  be  taken  up  in  advance,  and  the  money 
reported  at  conference. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  first  conference  was  the 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  11^ 

Virginia,  which  met  at  Otterbein  Church  on  MiU 
Creek,  Shenandoah  County,  Virginia,  February 
6,  1846.  At  this  place  he  united  with  the  con- 
ference fifteen  years  before.  He  opened  the 
session  by  reading  the  twelfth  chapter  of  II.  Cor- 
inthians, and  by  an  appropriate  address.  This 
was  the  Bishop's  own  conference,  and  here  he  was 
treated  not  only  with  respect,  but  with  love.  Six 
persons  were  ordained,  J.  W.  Fulkerson,  William 
Lutz,  and  J.  E.  Bowersox  being  of  the  number. 
The  conference  asked  Bishop  Glossbrenner  "to 
itinerate  through  his  district  as  much  as  possible," 
and  pledged  itself  to  do  what  it  could  to  "  support 
him  according  to  the  disciplinary  allowance."  On 
Sabbath  he  preached  a  "  very  appropriate,  practi- 
cal, and  aftecting  discourse."  The  session  was 
pleasant,  and  measures  were  taken  looking  to 
larger  efi^brts  and  more  fruitful  results. 

The  next  conference  attended  by  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner was  the  Pennsylvania,  which  met  at 
Springville,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania, 
February  20,  1846.  The  General  Conference  had 
authorized  the  division  of  Pennsylvania  Confer- 
ence, and  a  large  number  of  the  members  expected 
two  sessions  to  be  held  in  1846,  On  the  represen- 
tation of  some  of  the  members.  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner appointed  a  united  session.  Some 
dissatisfaction  was  expressed,  but  the  dissatisfied 


114  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

ones  acquiesced  with  the  best  possible  grace. 
Bishop  Glossbrcnner  felt  some  trepidation  in 
going  to  this  old,  strong  conference.  It  had 
eiofhtv-eio^ht  names  on  its  roll  of  members.  He 
also  felt  an  embarrassment  in  going  to  a  confer- 
ence that  had  as  many  German  preachers  as  had 
the  Pennsylvania.  Before  going  to  the  confer- 
ence, and  while  laboring  somewhat  under  these 
embarrassments,  Rev.  Caspar  Light,  one  of  the 
noble-hearted  ones  among  the  German  preachers, 
wrote  to  him,  saying:  "Come  on,  young  English 
bishop;  we  Germans  will  stand  by  you  and  hold 
up  your  hands."  "  This,"  said  Bishop  Gloss- 
brcnner, "  encouraged  me  greatly."  Among  the 
Germans  Bishop  Glossbrcnner  always  found 
ready  hearers  and  warm  friends.  He  used  simple 
language  and  quoted  many  passages  from  the 
Scriptures.  A  certain  admirer  of  the  Bisliop, 
belonging  to  another  denomination,  once  said 
that  it  was  not  with  him  as  it  was  with  another 
preacher  of  whom  he  had  heard,  who  often  used 
the  word  philanthropy  and  other  similarly  de- 
rived words.  A  lady,  having  heard  this  preacher, 
said:  "There  is  one  thing  that  puzzles  me.  I 
do  not  see  how  PAi7-anthropy  could  be 'such  a 
good  boy,  when  his  sister  J/is-anthropy  was  such 
a  bad  girl."  Bishop  Glossbrcnner  had  a  fine  com- 
mand of  crisp,   idiomatic   Anglo-Saxon,  molded 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  115 

upon  the  lips,  the  natural  language  of  living 
thought  and  burning  emotion. 

He  opened  the  session  of  Pennsylvania  Confer- 
ence by,  reading  the  fifth  chapter  of  I.  Peter  and 
making  "  appropriate  remarks  in  the  English 
language."  Bishop  Kussel  was  present  and  deliv- 
ered an  address  in  German.  On  Tuesday  fore- 
noon at  ten  o'clock  Bishop  Glossbrenner  delivered 
the  conference  sermon,  and  Bishop  Russel  im- 
mediately followed  him  in  German  from  the  same 
text.  Arrangements  were  made  for  separate  ses- 
sions of  East  and  West  Pennsylvania  conferences 
the  following  year.  The  conference  expressed 
"  sincere  thanks  to  Bishops  J.  J.  Glossbrenner 
and  J.  Pussel  for  the  able  manner  in  which  they 
had  managed  the  business  of  the  conference." 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  last  conference,  the 
Allegheny,  convened  at  Wayne  Church,  Mifflin 
County,  Pennsylvania,  March  2,  1846.  The  session 
was  opened  with  a  suitable  address.  Allegheny 
Conference  was  one  of  the  most  enterprising  of 
the  conferences  of  the  Church.  It  had  a  number 
of  strong  men.  Isaiah  Potter  and  J.  R.  Evans 
were  two  of  the  four  ordained  to  the  office  of 
elder. 

In  making  his  trips  to  the  conference,  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  rode  a  large  gray  horse,  somewhat 
ungainly    in    appearance,   but    a    fine    traveler. 


116  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

"When  necessary  he  could  walk  fifty  miles  a 
day.  In  the  early  days  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  to  have  a  good  horse  and  to  know  how  to 
take  care  of  him  were  prime  requisites.  Newcomer 
was  specially  noted  in  both  of  these  regards. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner,  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  attended  the  conferences  on  the  "West 
district,  consisting  of  Iowa,  Illinois,  "Wabash,  and 
St.  Joseph  conferences,  along  with  Scioto  Con- 
ference. Leaving  home  August  lOtli  he  came 
by  boat  on  the  Ohio  River  to  Cincinnati,  reaching 
Cincinnati  August  15th.  Here  he  remained  till 
the  18th,  preaching  twice  for  the  United  Brethren 
conff relation.  He  then  took  boat  for  St.  Louis. 
A  very  pleasant  company  of  people  were  on  the 
boat,  among  them  a  number  of  ministers.  By 
request  he  preached  three  times  in  the  course  of 
the  journey.  From  St.  Louis  he  went  to  Colum- 
bus City,  Iowa,  where  on  the  31st  of  August, 
Iowa  Conference  convened.  Iowa  was  not 
admitted  as  a  state  till  December  of  this  year. 
The  attendance  at  this  conference  was  very 
limited,  not  half  of  the  small  membership  of  the 
conference  being  present.  This  year  there  was 
much  sickness  throughout  the  "West.  The 
preaching  places  were  widely  separated,  and 
the  preachers  were  poorly  supported.  This  was 
the  second  session  of  the  conference  after  being 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  117 

regularly  set  off  by  the  General  Conference. 
John  Everhart  was  elected  chairman,  and  F.  R. 
S.  Bird  secretary.  A.  A.  Sellers  was  present, 
and  Christian  Tronp  was  absent.  Three  new 
members  were  received  and  three  persons  were 
ordained.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  made  the 
bearer  of  sixty-six  dollars  of  missionary  money 
to  the  itinerants  of  Iowa  Conference. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  himself  furnishes  a  de- 
scription of  itinerant  life  in  Iowa  at  this  time. 
He  draws  the  following  picture:  "I  think  that 
I  can  give  a  tolerably  correct  account  of  a 
missionary's  life  in  this  western  world.  My 
brethren,  in  your  imagination  fix  your  eyes  on 
that  missionary  of  the  cross  as  he  leaves  his 
humble  cabin  to  meet  his  appointments.  There 
is  little  flour  or  meat  in  the  house.  His  compan- 
ion in  toil  and  hardship  gives  him  her  hand  and 
seems  to  say,  while  her  eyes  are  filled  with  tears, 
*  Husband,  ours  seems  to  be  a  hard  lot,  but  go  in 
the  strength  of  the  Lord;  we  will  still  trust 
him.'  There  stand  his  hatless  and  shoeless  little 
ones,  saying,  'Father,  when  will  you  come 
back?'  He  looks  upon  them  and  says,  'I  can- 
not tell;  be  good  children  and  be  kind  to  your 
mother.'  He  then  leaves  them.  ISTow  follow 
him  as  he  travels  through  the  lonely  woods 
or  across   the    broad    prairies.       The    tear    falls 


118  LIFE    OF    (jLOSSBREMNER. 

down  his  manly  cheek,  but  still  he  feels,  Woe 
is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel.  lie  reaches 
liis  appointment,  he  enters  the  cabin,  takes  out 
his  Bible  and  hymn  book,  lays  them  down,  and 
his  heart  is  lifted  to  God  for  divine  assistance. 
A  hymn  is  sung.  After  pra^-er  he  stands  up  as 
an  embassador  of  God,  gives  out  his  text,  and 
preaches,  not  about  the  gospel,  but  the  gospel 
itself,  not  in  word  only  but  in  power  and 
the  demonstration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with 
much  assurance,  commending  himself  to  every 
man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.  After 
preaching  he  meets  the  class.  The  Lord  is  with 
them,  their  souls  are  filled  with  glory,  and  for 
awhile  the  missionary  forgets  his  troubles  and 
privations,  and  rejoices  in  a  title  clear  to  mansions 
in  the  skies." 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  second  conference  was 
the  Illinois,  which  met  at  Spring  Grove,  Wiscon- 
sin Territory,  September  14th.  J.  Denham  was 
elected  chairman  and  Josiah  Terrell,  secretary. 
Ten  new  members  were  received  and  six 
candidates  were  ordained.  Money  received  from 
the  older  parts  of  the  Church  was  also  distributed 
among  the  itinerants  of  this  conference.  The 
year  had  been  prosperous,  and  the  outlook  was 
encouraging. 

He  next   attended  Wabash  Conference    which 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  119 

met  at  Isaac  Bolton's,  in  Yigo  Cc  mty,  Indiana, 
September  28th.  Belonging  to  this  conference 
were  a  number  of  the  prominent  men  of  the 
Church.  "William  Brown,  J.  C.  MciTamer,  James 
Griffith  and  John  Hoobler  might  be  named. 
The  conference  passed  a  resolution  against 
a  proposed  union  of  the  United  Brethren  Church 
with  the  Wesloyan  Methodist  Cliurch.  The 
proposition  had  been  brought  prominentl}'  before 
both  churches  and  met  with  much  favor;  yet 
botli  churches  were  too  well  satisfied  with  their 
separate  organization  and  work  to  consum- 
mate a  union.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  himself  was 
not  favorable  to  the  movement.  One  of  the 
prominent  interests  at  this  time  was  that  known 
as  the  benevolent  fund,  which  aimed  to  provide 
assistance  for  needy  or  worn-out  itinerants  or 
their  families.  Large  salaries  were  not  encour- 
aged even  by  the  preachers,  and  they  could  not 
have  been  commanded  even  if  desired.  This 
movement  enlisted  much  of  the  enthusiasm  and 
support  that  it  deserved.  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
gave  himself  with  great  zeal  and  success  to  the 
building  up  of  this  fund.  He  raised  for  this 
purpose  a  large  subscription  at  Wabash  Confer- 
ence. 

His  next  conference  was  the  St.  Joseph  which 
met  at  Leffel's  school-house,  Kosciusko  County, 


120  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Indiana,  October  12th.  Leading  members  of  this 
conference  were  Francis  Whitcomb,  J.  Fetterhoff, 
J.  Thomas  and  J.  M.  Hershey.  This  conference 
was  as  much  in  favor  of  a  union  with  the  Wes- 
leyans  as  the  Wabash  was  opposed  to  it. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  hist  conference  for  the 
year  was  the  Scioto,  which  met  at  Bethlehem 
Church,  Pickaway  County,  Ohio,  October  26th. 
He  opened  the  conference  by  reading  the  second 
chapter  of  II.  Timothy,  and  by  an  appropriate 
address.  Scioto  Conference  was  one  of  the  okl 
conferences,  and  in  it  were  represented  as  much 
intelligence,  enterprise,  and  tried  Christian  char- 
acter, and  as  high  talent  in  the  ministry,  us  could 
be  found  in  any  of  the  conferences.  Here  were 
found  J.  ■Montgomery,  L.  Davis,  E.  Van  Demark, 
J.  Kretzinger,  J.  M.  Spangler,  D.  Edwards,  and 
William  Fisher.  Bishop  Hanby,  though  a  mem- 
ber, was  not  present.  The  great  matter  which 
will  make  this  session  ever  memorable,  is  that  at 
this  session  the  first  successful  measures  were 
taken  looking  to  the  work  of  education  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Church.  The  conference 
now  took  practical  steps  that  led  to  the  putting  in 
operation  in  the  following  year  of  Otterbein 
University.  The  trustees  appointed  were  L. 
Davis,  J.  Dresbach,  and  AY.  Ilanby.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  often  referred   with   satisfaction  to 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  121 

the  fact  that  he  had  the  honor  of  presiding  at 
the  conference  session  at  which  the  educational 
work  of  the  Church  was  inaugurated.  He  re- 
ceived a  vote  of  thanks  for  the  "  able  and  courte- 
ous manner  "  in  which  he  conducted  the  business 
of  the  conference. 

February  8,  1847,  he  met  with  his  own  con- 
ference in  Virginia,  at  Mt.  Hebron  Church, 
Washington  County,  Maryland,  Bishop  Hanby 
presiding.  Virginia  Conference  had  the  embar- 
rassment of  being  in  skive  territory,  and  besides, 
was  vexed  with  a  few  cases  of  slave  holding 
within  the  Church.  The  editor  of  the  Religious 
Telescope,  Rev.  D.  Edwards,  who  was  present  at 
the  session,  had  admitted  into  the  columns  of  the 
paper  strong  denunciation  of  all  connection  with 
the  "domestic  institution."  It  was  claimed  by 
Virginia  Conference  that  the  course  of  the  paper 
was  a  great  hindrance  to  success  in  slave  territory, 
and  it  was  proposed  to  establish  a  religious  paper 
under  the  direction  of  the  conference.  Steps 
were  taken  looking  toward  the  establishment  of 
a  literary  institution,  and  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
was  placed  on  the  committee  to  select  location 
and  raise  money  for  the  same.  The  elFort  did  not 
issue  in  success.  Through  a  course  of  years, 
propositions  were  made  all  over  the  Church,  look- 
ing to  the  establishing  of  academies  and  colleges. 


122  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Much  was  said  and  written  on  the  subject.  In 
some  parts  of  the  Church  liberal  donations  were 
giveu.  There  was,  so  to  speak,  an  educational 
furor.  i!Tot  all  of  the  efforts  were  well  directed, 
and  after  the  first  moments,  the  enthusiasm  of 
many  cooled. 

Through  the  plan  of  changing  districts,  and 
owing  to  the  fact  that  some  of  the  conferences 
were  held  in  the  spring  and  others  in  the  fall, 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  served  two  districts  in  1846, 
and  presided  over  no  conferences  in  1847. 

At  a  camp-meeting  held  in  Virginia  in  the 
period  of  Mr.  Glossbrenuer's  first  term  as  hishop^ 
he  found  himself  in  a  rather  serious  situation, 
from  which  he  happily  extricated  himself.  Eev. 
W.  R.  Coursey,  the  presiding  elder,  preached  on 
Saturday  from  Matthew  18:  3:  "Verily  I  say  unto 
you.  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  On  Sabbath  morning  Bishop  Russel 
came  upon  the  grounds  and  was  pressed  into 
service.  He  selected  the  same  text,  which  had  an 
unpleasant  efiect  on  those  anxious  for  the  success 
of  the  meeting.  Monday  morning  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner arrived,  took  the  stand,  and  announced 
the  same  text.  Now  the  situation  became  pain- 
ful in  the  extreme.  A  good  sister  within  the  altar 
spoke  up  and  said,  "That  text  has  been  preached 


LIFE    OP    GLOSSBRENNER.  123 

to  death  already."  The  Bisliop  scarcely  halting, 
said,  "Xever  mind,  sister,  I  will  endeavor  to  raise  it 
up  and  put  new  life  into  it."  The  issue  justified 
the  statement.  The  outcome  could  not  have 
been  happier  if  the  preachers  had  consulted  and 
every  item  been  planned.  Coursey  was  a  good 
talker  and  a  close  reasoher;  Russel  was  a  topical 
preacher  with  critical  expositions;  "Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner,"  says  an  eye  witness,  "  was  in  his 
happiest  mood  of  gospel  power."  As  he  pro- 
ceeded in  his  inimitable  way,  many  in  the  audi- 
ence rose  to  their  feet  and  others  moved  about 
unconscious  of  what  they  did. 

In  the  year  1848  he  presided  over  the  Middle 
District,  consisting  of  Miami,  Indiana,  White 
River,  Sandusky,  and  Muskingum  conferences. 
Miami  Conference  met  at  Miltonville,  Ohio, 
January  6,  1848.  Henry  Kumler,  sen.,  was  elected 
chairman,  and  W.  R.  Rhinehart  secretary.  Ex- 
bishops  John  Coons,  Joseph  Hoffman,  and  H. 
Kumler,  jr.,  were  also  members  of  the  conference. 
Miami  Conference  was  the  mother  conference  of 
the  West.  There  was  indeed  a  line  of  extension 
from  the  old  conference  in  the  East,  through 
Muskingum  and  Sandusky  conferences,  over  the 
northern  part  of  Ohio  on  into  Michigan,  but 
Indiana  and  Wabash  conferences  with  their  oif- 
shoots  are  to  be  traced  back  to  the  Miami,  the 


124  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

first  session  of  which  was  held  in  1810.  At  the 
present  session  there  were  ninety-threef  names  of 
members  on  the  rolL  The  various  interests  and 
enterprises  of  the  Church  received  due  attention. 
The  reform  character  of  the  Church  stood  con- 
spicuously forth. 

Indiana  Conference  met  at  Union  meeting- 
house, Orange  County,  Indiana,  January  20th. 
Daniel  Shuck,  Henry  Bonebrake,  L.  S.  Chitten- 
den, Aaron  Davis,  and  T.  J.  Conner  were  among 
the  best  known  ministers  present. 

White  River  Conference  met  at  White  Chapel, 
Madison  County,  Indiana,  February  3d.  This 
was  the  second  session  of  the  conference.  Though 
the  conference  was  small,  it  was  full  of  enterprise. 
J.  A.  Ball,  W.  W.  Richardson,  C.  W.  Witt,  D. 
Stover,  and  J.  T.  Yardeman  were  among  the 
members  present.  In  the  previous  session  of  the 
conference,  one  of  the  preachers  liad  been  charged 
with  public  immorality  for  enlisting  to  serve  in 
the  Mexican  War.  On  this  charge  he  was  at 
this  conference  expelled.  The  United  Brethren 
Church  was  quite  thoroughly  opposed  to  war  in 
any  circumstances,  but  especially  to  the  Mexican 
War,  on  account  of  its  being  understood  to  be  a 
w^ar  in  the  interest  of  slavery.  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  at  this  session  had  his  home  with  Mr. 
John  Lambert,  with  whose  family  he  was  familiar 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  125 

in  Virginia.  ITothing  pleased  the  Bishop  more 
than  to  meet  throughout  his  travels  those  with 
whom  or  with  whose  families  he  had  been  as- 
sociated in  Virghiia.  He  met  ministers  from 
Virginia  in  almost  every  conference,  and  his  love 
for  them,  almost  if  not  quite,  amounted  to 
partiality. 

Sandusky  Conference  met  at  Brett's  Meeting- 
house, Seneca  County,  Ohio,  February  17th. 
Leading  members  in  this  conference  were  H.  G. 
Spayth,  George  Hiskey,  and  J.  C.  Bright.  This 
conference  was  just  entering  on  a  career  of  un- 
precedented activity.  The  conference  resolved  to 
co-operate  actively  and  liberally  with  Otterbein 
University.  The  conference  was  the  banner  con- 
ference in  the  work  of  missions. 

The  last  conference  attended  by  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner,  on  this  round,  was  the  Muskingum, 
which  met  at  Connotton,  Harrison  County,  Ohio, 
March  3d.  This  conference  was  the  third  annual 
conference  formed,  having  been  constituted  in 
1817.  S.  "Weaver,  J.  Weaver,  and  C.  Carter  were 
among  the  members  present.  A.  Biddle  and  W. 
S.  Titus,  while  not  present,  received  transfers. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  asked  "  to  give  a  short 
history  of  the  origin  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church  for  the  benefit  of  the  young  brethren  in 
the  ministry,  which  he  kindly  and   satisfactorily 


126  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

did,  along  with  some  appropriate  remarks  rela- 
tive to  the  situation  of  the  Church  in  the  slave 
states." 

In  the  fall  of  1848  he  presided  over  the  same 
conference,  over  which  he  presided  in  the  spring 
of  1848.  Miami  Conference  met  September  20th 
at  Farmersville,  Ohio.  Among  those  received  as 
members  was  W.  J.  Shue}'.  The  finances  of  the 
conference  were  improving  at  a  rapid  rate,  and 
}trominent  laymen,  such  as  T.  Is.  Sowers  and 
John  Dodds,  were  being  recognized  and  j^ut  to 
work.  Indiana  Conference  met  at  Zion  Chapel, 
Dearborn  County,  Indiana,  September  28th.  A 
field  of  hibor  was  recognized  in  Kentucky,  J. 
Blair  being  made  presiding  elder  over  the  same, 
with  one  preacher  under  him.  White  River  Con- 
ference met  at  Kingdom  Chapel,  Shelby  County, 
Indiana,  October  6th.  Steps  were  taken  looking 
to  the  establishment  of  a  manual  labor  school. 
T.  J.  Conner  was  received  by  transfer.  Sandusky 
Conference  met  at  Walter's  school-house,  Lucas 
County,  Ohio,  October  20tli.  It  sustained  its 
reputation  for  devotion  to  the  local  and  gen- 
eral work  of  the  Church.  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner  preached  a  "very  plain  and  impressive 
discourse."  Muskingum  Conference  met  at 
Warner's  meeting-house,  Stark  County,  Ohio, 
November  2d.       An    earnest    missionar}'    spirit 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  127 

combined  with  a  jealous  care  to  maintain  the  old 
landmarks,  characterized  the  conference.  J.  "Wea- 
ver was  one  of  the  two  candidates  ordained.  "The 
Bishop  preached  a  very  feeling  and  appropriate 
sermon,"  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  present  at 
the  session  of  Virginia  Conference  which  con- 
vened near  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  January  25, 
1849,  and  assisted  Bishop  Russel  in  presiding. 

We  have  thus  gone  with  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
to  all  of  the  conferences  of  the  Church,  fourteen 
in  all.  Though  scattered  over  a  large  territory, 
they  were  one  in  traditions,  purpose,  and  sym- 
pathy. Tliere  was  harmony  within  and  little  of 
admixture  from  elements  without.  Opposition 
to  all  wickedness  in  the  world  and  all  secular 
tendencies  in  the  church  of  Christ  was  the  nega- 
tive pole,  and  love  to  Christ  and  the  souls  of  men, 
the  positive  pole  governing  the  character  and 
activities  of  the  Church.  Opposition  to  theologi- 
cal education,  and  the  restricting  of  salaries  to  a 
meager  specified  amount,  were  thought  to  be 
necessary  to  keep  the  Church  and  its  work  from 
beino;  considered  on  the  basis  of  secular  thino;s. 
Slavery,  secret  societies,  and  intemperance  fur- 
nished the  special  points  for  this  opposition  to 
the  world.  It  is  not  strange  that  along  with 
this  intense  opposition  to  worldly  elements  there 
should  be  a  stronsf  force  hohlino;  the  Church  to- 


128  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

gether  and  giving  it  a  homogeneous  character, 
^o  one  understands  aright  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  who  does  not  discern  in  its  history  an 
earnest  eiFort  to  reach  the  marked  elements  pre- 
sented in  the  New  Testament  as  helonging  to 
the  kingdom  that  Christ  came  to  estahhsh.  But 
no  one  will  deny  that  there  were  weaknesses  and 
blemishes.  Mistake  and  confusion  may  easily  be 
pointed  out.  The  Church  was  a  revival  church 
taking  to  itself  from  all  classes  of  society  and  all 
conditions  of  neglected  humanity.  As  a  body  it 
was  mostly  taken  from  Satan's  side  of  the  line, 
instead  of  being  taken  from  other  folds  or  from 
elements  having  a  training  in  churchliness.  Some 
uutowardness,  therefore,  if  not  balanced  by  ad- 
vantages, must  yet  be  borne  with.  Converts  were 
licensed  to  }»reach  in  many  cases  immediately  on 
their  conversion.  Members  and  preachers  were 
in  many  instances  irregular  and  unreliable.  But 
everywhere  and  always  close  discipline  was  ap- 
plied to  the  correcting  of  abuses  and  the  purifying 
of  the  Church.  One  of  the  prominent  things  at 
almost  every  conference  session  was  the  hearing 
of  complaints  against  ministers.  This  holds  good 
from  the  earliest  times.  Technicalities  were  not 
allowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  expulsion  of 
ofienders.  It  was  something  of  a  maxim,  "Truth 
and  righteousness  are  above  sympathy." 


LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  129 

If  at  many  places  the  life  of  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner  is  allowed  to  merge  itself  in  the  history  of  the 
church  to  which  he  belonged,  it  is  because,  as  an 
actual  fact,  the  life  of  the  Church  iirst  dominated 
his  own  character  and  work.  He  was  not 
specially  in  advance  of  the  Church  or  above  it, 
but  a  part  of  its  throbbing  power  and  guiding' 
intelligence.  If  not  much  is  found  recorded  of 
the  principal  men  of  the  Church,  it  is  because  it 
was  against  the  spirit  of  the  Church  to  exalt  the 
names  of  men.  Even  now  we  cannot  help  giving 
a  degree  of  sympathy  to  words  written  in  this 
spirit  by  the  editor  of  the  Religious  Telescope  in 
1848.  After  reproving  zeal  in  hunting  up  facts 
that  would  honor  the  name  of  Otterbein,  the 
editor  said:  "  Otterbein  seems  to  have  purposely 
avoided  everything  which  in  anyway  led  to  man- 
worship  in  his  person.  His  highest  ambition 
seems  to  have  been 

'To  be  little  and  unknown, 
Loved  and  prized  by  God  alone!' 

"  Could  we  now  consult  him  he  would  no  doubt 
exhort  us  to  employ  our  time  in  becoming 
acquainted  with  Christ,  instead  of  following  the 
examples  of  those  who  would  canonize  and  wor- 
ship every  distinguished  leader  in  their  respective 
churches."       This  statement,  right  in  large  part, 


I 

liiO  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRE]S•^■JiK. 

hides  from  us,  jnst  as  it  chocks  in  the  actors 
themselves,  the  existence  and  manifestation  of 
individualized  character  and  eftbrt.  To  speak  of 
a  sermon  as  plain,  practical,  or  feeling,  was  ahout 
as  much  as  it  was  allowable  to  say.  The  proper 
thing,  it  would  seem,  is  a  fair  setting  forth  from 
proper  sentiments  of  the  character  and  acts  of 
worthy  men.  Others  will  thus  be  instructed  and 
inspired,  and  God  will  be  honored.  Proper  rec- 
ognition will  encourage  the  actors,  who,  having 
the  assistance  of  the  judgments  of  others  in  form- 
ing a  judgment  of  themselves,  will  be  even  more 
likely  to  avoid  a  hurtful  and  exaggerated  opinion 
of  themselves. 

We  now  come  to  the  tenth  General  Conference 
which  convened  at  Gerniantown,  Ohio,  May  14, 
1849.  Bishops  Ilanl^y,  Russel,  and  Glossbrenner 
wore  all  present.  Thirteen  conferences  were 
represented  by  three  delegates  each,  excepting 
the  Illinois,  which  was  represented  by  one 
delegate.  In  consequence  of  distance  and  the 
prevalence  of  Asiatic  cholera,  no  delegates  wore 
present  from  Iowa  Conference.  The  General 
Conference  was  composed  of  the  strongest  and 
most  aggressive  members  of  the  different  annual 
conferences.  The  leading  questions  were  those 
touching  in  some  way  the  reform  principles  of 
the  Church. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  131 

A  resolution  prohibiting  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits  as  a  beverage  "  passed  with  the  utmost 
enthusiasm."  This  was  tlie  point  to  whicli 
Bishop  Glossbreuner,  with  others,  had  been 
laboring  to  bring  the  legislation  of  the  Church. 
In  1814  the  Old  Conference  adopted  a  rule  that 
every  member  sliould  abstain  from  strong  drink 
and  use  it  only  when  necessity  required.  But 
this  was  in  advance  of  the  ideas  and  practice 
of  the  Church,  as  well  as  in  advance  of  the 
general  practice  among  professed  Christians. 
The  General  Conference  of  1821  formulated  a 
rule  against  distilling,  on  the  part  of  ministers 
and  members,  and  laid  it  over  for  future  action. 
The  General  Conference  of  1833  ordained  that  no 
exhorter  or  preacher  should  distill  or  vend  ardent 
spirits  on  pain  of  not  being  considered  for  the 
time  of  his  disobedience  a  member  of  the  Church. 
At  the  same  time  all  members  were  advised 
against  manufacturing  and  selling  ardent  spirits. 
This  advice  was  made  by  the  General  Conference 
of  1841  a  command.  It  remained  for  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1849  to  forbid  the  using  as  a 
beverage  as  well  as  the  manufacturing  and  selling 
of  ardent  spirits.  Later  (in  1873)  to  prevent 
all  ambiguity,  the  expression  intoxicating  drinks 
was  substituted  for  ardent  spirits. 

Rev.  C.  W.  Witt,  chairman  on  the  committee 


132  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

on  secret  combinations,  presented  a  report  the 
first  clause  of  wliicli  was  the  following:  "Free- 
masonry in  every  sense  of  the  word  shall  be 
totally  prohibited  and  there  shall  be  no  connect- 
ion with  secret  combinations."  In  1826,  before 
the  Morgan  excitement,  Miami  Conference 
declared  that  all  ministers  who  should  join  the 
Masonic  fraternity  should  forfeit  their  connection 
with  the  Church.  In  1827  the  conference  in  the 
East  declared  that  all  preachers  and  members 
who 'should  connect  themselves  with  the  order  of 
Freemasons  should  lose  their  membership.  The 
General  Conference  of  1829  declared  that  Free- 
masonry in  every  sense  of  the  word  should  be 
prohibited  and  that  all  who  should  connect 
themselves  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  should 
cease  to  be  members  of  the  Church.  This  law 
continued  substantially  unchanged  until  1849. 
At  this  time  the  expression  "there  shall  be  no 
connection  with  secret  combinations  "  was  inserted, 
being  taken  from  the  constitution  of  1841.  Later 
changes  have  all  had  reference  to  the  method  of 
enforcement.  In  1841  when  the  constitution 
was  adopted,  the  Church  had  scarcely  come  into 
contact  with  any  secret  society  other  than  Free- 
masonry. But  in  1842  the  Sons  of  Temperance 
originated,  and  from  that  time  on  the  whole 
subject  began   to  assume  a  different  phase.     In 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  133 

the  General  Conference  of  1849  Bachtel  and 
Markwood  of  Virginia  Conference  were  opposed 
to  introducing  language  into  the  law  that  would 
apply  alike  to  all  secret  societies.  H.  Kuniler, 
jr.,  Joshua  Montgomery,  David  Edwards  and 
others  made  energetic  speeches  in  favor  of  the 
proposed  law.  Only  two,  Markwood  and  Bach- 
tel, voted  against  the  law,  while  two  were 
neutral,  H.  Burtner  and  William  R.  Rhinehart. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  in  the  chair  during  the 
discussion.  The  discussion  extended  through 
nearly  a  whole  day  and  was  able  as  well  as 
exciting. 

The  subject  of  slavery  came  before  the  confer- 
ence in  various  forms.  The  Church  had  been 
opposed  to  slavery  from  the  beginning.  The  first 
legislation  on  the  subject  was  in  1821,  when  a 
rule  was  adopted  forbidding  slaverj^,  but  including 
a  provision  that  the  hire  for  slaves  for  a  certain 
time  should  be  applied  toward  compensating  their 
masters.  In  1837  this  provision  was  stricken  out 
and  the  law  against  slavery  made  absolute.  In 
Virginia  Conference,  beginning  as  early  as  1830, 
there  came  to  be  a  number  of  cases  of  slave-hold- 
ing. As  already  noticed,  a  restriction  was  placed 
on  the  utterances  of  the  Religious  Telescope  in 
1841,  but  this  had  reference  to  a  prudent  refrain- 
ing, as   was    supposed,   from    embittering    those 


134  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

favorable  to  slavery  among  whom  the  Cliurch 
worked.  The  difficulties  encountered  were  real 
and  not  easy  of  solution.  The  perils  in  the 
line  of  self-deception,  cupidity,  fear  of  popular 
odium,  and  corruption  of  conscience,  were  very 
great.  The  laws  of  the  slave  states  made  eman- 
cij)ation  difficult,  and  the  law  of  the  Church  up 
to  1837  was  by  its  own  statement  to  be  subject  to 
state  law.  A  member  of  the  Church  by  marrying 
into  a  slave-holdino;  lumilv  mii^lit  become  involved 
in  slavery  without  his  active  consent,  and  those 
so  disposed  could  reap  the  profits  of  slavery 
without  technically  being  slave-holders.  In  1840 
Virginia  Conference  dealt  summarily  with  a 
minister  whose  wife  was  understood  to  be  the 
owner  of  a  slave,  but  finding  itself  in  error  as  to 
the  facts,  rescinded  its  action  at  the  next  session. 
At  this  session  of  the  General  Conference  earnest 
measures  were  taken  to  carry  out  the  law  of  the 
Church  in  all  cases.  The  delegates  from  Virginia 
Conference  w^ere  frank  in  giving  the  state  of  the 
case  as  to  slavery  witiiin  the  Church,  and  asked 
for  explanations  as  to  the  intent  of  the  law  and 
the  method  of  procedure.  Both  as  to  slavery 
and  secret  societies,  the  prohibitory  clause  of  the 
constitution  stood  inconveniently  in  the  way  of 
the  slight  modifications  desired  by  some  of  the 
delegates.      In  view  of   this,  and   from  the  fact 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  135 

that  the  constitution  had  not  been  submitted  to 
the  people,  a  motion  was  made  that  the  constitu- 
tion be  expunged.  Only  three  delegates,  however, 
voted  m  the  affirmative. 

At  this  session,  West  Pennsylvania  Conference 
was  charged  with  not  coming  up  to  the  discipHn- 
ary  requirements  in  regard  to  distilling,  and 
Miami  Conference  was  charged  with  not  throw- 
ing its  whole  influence  against  connection  with 
secret  societies.  The  Church,  however,  stood 
almost  as  a  unit  on  these  questions  as  well  as  on 
almost  ever}^  other  question. 

During  the  session  Bishop  Glossbrenner  ruled 
against  2:rantin2:  the  rio-ht  to  the  Otterbein  con- 

o  CT*  O  CT" 

£:rc2:ation  in  Baltimore  to  vote  for  delet^ates  to 
the  General  Conference,  on  the  ground  that  they 
were  subject  to  their  own  particular  discipline 
instead  of  the  discipline  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  Ilis  decision  was  reversed  by  the  con- 
ference, this  being  almost  a  solitary  case  of  an 
appeal  against  his  decision  being  sustained.  At 
this  time  local  elders  were  first  placed  on  the 
stationing  committees. 

Mr.  Glossbrenner  was  re-elected  to  the  office 
of  superintendent  in  the  Church,  his  colleagues 
being  David  Edwards  and  Jacob  Erb,  the  latter 
having  filled  the  ofi&ce  of  bishop  the  eight  years 
between  1837  and  1845.      Bishop   Edwards  was 


136  LITE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

just  entering  on  what  proved  to  be  a  long  and 
noble  career  in  the  office  of  superintendent.  He 
was  a  man  of  strong  convictions,  courage  in 
announcing  and  maintaining  the  same,  and  in- 
domitable energy.  He  was  noted  both  as  a 
preacher  and  an  administrator.  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  was  assigned  to  the  West  District, 
including  Miami,  Indiana,  Wabash,  Illinois,  and 
Iowa  conferences.  By  special  arrangenumt. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  and  Bishop  Edwards,  who 
was  assigned  to  the  Middle  District,  exchanged 
districts  the  first  year.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  thus 
presided  the  first  year  over  White  River,  St. 
Joseph,  Sandusky,  Scioto  and  Muskingum  con- 
ferences. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  presided  at  the  White 
River  Conference  which  met  at  Dublin,  Indiana, 
September  13,  1849.  There  was  a  large  attend- 
ance of  members.  The  conference  voted  to  co- 
operate in  the  support  of  Otterbein  University, 
in  view  of  a  proposition  to  connect  with  the 
university  a  manual  labor  department.  Two 
members  were  ordered  to  be  reprimanded  by  the 
Bishop  for  non-compliance  with  the  requirement 
to  lift  collections  for  missions.  St.  Joseph  Con- 
ference convened  at  Pleasant  Phiins,  Elkhart 
County,  September  27th,  and  was  opened  by  an 
appropriate  address. 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  137 

The  next  conference  was  the  Sandusky,  which 
met  at  Gilboa,  Ohio,  October  5th.  The  session 
was  marked  by  close  attention  to  business,  and 
enthusiasm  in  the  Lord's  work.  J.  Lawrence 
and  J.  C.  Bright  were  leading  spirits.  A  presid- 
ing elder's  district  was  formed  in  Michigan. 
Ministers  were  sent  out  to  missions  with  nothing 
but  territory  and  spiritual  destitution  before 
them,  and  a  small  appropriation  back  of  them. 
The  Bishop  gave  a  wholesome  lecture  on  care  in 
receiving  members  into  the  Church.  On  Sabbath 
he  preached  an  impressive  sermon  on  "Winning 
Souls,"  after  which  five  persons  were  ordained. 
"The  occasion  was  solemn,  melting,  and  refresh- 
ing." 

Scioto  Conference  met  at  Salem  meeting-house 
on  Winchester  Circuit,  October  17th.  Within  the 
bounds  of  the  conference  Otterbein  University 
had  gone  into  successful  operation  two  years 
before.  Circleville,  where  the  Religious  Telescope 
was  published,  was  within  the  conference  bounds, 
and  in  the  periods  between  General  Conferences, 
Scioto  Conference  had  the  oversight  of  the  paper. 
In  no  conference  was  there  a  stronger  body  of 
preachers.  They  were  specially  alert  to  the  new 
interests  that  were  springing  up  in  the  Church 
and  demanding  wise  management  and  hearty 
support.     In  coming  to  such  a  conference  a  more 


138  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNEK. 

magnetic  and  bracing  atniospliere  is  always  felt. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  last  conference  was  the 
Muskingam,  which  met  at  Berlin  meeting-honse, 
Mahoning  County,  Ohio,  I^ovember  1st.  Seven 
candidates  w^ere  ordained.  There  had  been  an 
increase  in  membership  of  eight  hundred  and 
forty-three.  The  conferences  were  improving 
greatly  in  the  accuracy  and  fullness  of  their 
statistics.  The  Church,  east  and  west,  was  grow- 
ing rapidly.  On  the  West  District  the  increase 
for  the  year  was  about  twenty-five  per  cent. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  present  at  the  session 
of  Virginia  Conference,  at  Mt.  Hebron,  Shenan- 
doah County,  Virginia,  beginning  March  7, 
1850.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings. 
More  than  six  hundred  members  had  been  re- 
ceived into  the  Church  during  the  year. 

We  now  turn  to  Bishop  Glossbrenner's  labors 
on  his  own  district — the  West  District.  The  first 
conference  attended  was  the  Iowa,  which  met  at 
Clark's  Point,  Lee  County,  Iowa,  August  15, 
1850.  Christian  Troup,  who,  more  than  any 
other  one  was  the  founder  of  the  conference,  had 
died  during  the  year.  The  ministers  were  meager- 
ly  supported,  and  had  it  not  been  for  assistance 
contributed  from  abroad,  especially  by  Sandusky 
Conference,  they  w^ould  scarcely  have  been  able 
to    continue   in    the  field.     Bishop  Glossbrenner 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  139 

took  great  interest  in  looking  after  the  comfort 
and  temporal  support  of  the  ministers  under  his 
charge.  This  he  did  by  urging  their  claims  in  the 
older  parts  of  the  Church  and  by  looking  after 
the  benevolent  fund.  Illinois  Conference  met  at 
Lexington,  Illinois,  August  29th.  Scioto  Con- 
ference sent  the  bulk  of  its  contributions  for  the 
frontier  to  this  conference.  Wabash  Conference 
met  at  Millford  Church,  Warren  County,  Indiana, 
September  6th.  Indiana  Conference  met  at 
Liberty  meeting-house,  Adair  County,  Kentucky, 
September  20th.  This  was  the  first  conference 
session  held  in  the -State  of  Kentucky.  Indiana 
Conference  was  now  struggling  to  put  on  a 
good  basis  Hartsville  Academy,  White  River  Con- 
ference having  voted  to  co-operate.  The  last 
conference  for  this  round  was  the  Miami,  which 
convened  at  Seven  Mile,  Ohio,  October  3d. 
Twelve  new  members  were  received,  among  the 
number  being  D.  K.  Flickinger  and  J.  Kemp,  jr. 
It  was  resolved  to  found  an  institution  of  learn- 
ing. After  the  Bishop's  sermon  on  Sabbath  a 
good  collection  was  taken  up  for  missions  in  the 
"  far  west,"  Iowa  and  Illinois  being  meant.  It 
may  be  remarked  that  at  this  time  Dayton  be- 
longed to  Springfield  circuit. 

March  7,  1851,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  pres- 
ent   at    the    session  of    Virginia    Conference    at 


140  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

Bethlehem  Church,  Augusta  County,  Virginia. 
Bishop  Erb  presided.  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
presided  over  no  conferences  this  year. 

In  the  year  1852  he  presided  over  the  confer- 
ences of  the  East  District,  Bishop  Erb  having 
presided  over  the  conferences  of  the  West  District 
the  fall  of  the  preceding  year.  Allegheny  Con- 
ference met  in  Ligonier  Valley,  Pennsylvania, 
January  80,  1852.  J.  11.  Sitman,  J.  B.  Resler,  I. 
Potter,  S.  S.  Snyder,  W.  H.  S.  Keys,  D.  Speck, 
and  W.  B.  Dick  were  among  the  active  and 
prominent  members.  Within  the  bounds  of  the 
conference,  Mt.  Pleasant  College  had  been  in 
operation  for  two  ycjirs. 

East  Pennsylvania  C^onference  met  at  Mount- 
ville,  Pennsylvania,  February  12th.  After  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  addressed  the  conference  in  English, 
Bisliop  Erb  made  an  address  in  German.  The 
presiding  elders  elected  were  S.  Voneida  and  J. 
A.  Sand.  The  German  element  largely  predomi- 
nated. Pennsylvania  Conference  met  at  Green- 
castle,  Pennsylvania,  February  20th.  Bishop  Erb 
assisted  Bishop  Glossbrenner  in  presiding.  Among 
the  itinerants  we  find  the  names  of  A.  Owen,  J. 
S.  Kessler,  W.  B.  Kaber,  J.  Dickson,  J.  C.  Smith, 
and  Z.  A.  Colestock. 

Virginia  Conference  met  at  Rohrersville, 
Maryland,  February   27th,  Bishop    Glossbreiiner 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  141 

presiding,  assisted  by  Bishop  Erb.  At  this  session 
the  crisis  of  the  disagreement  between  Virginia 
Conference  and  the  discipline  of  the  Church  on 
the  slavery  question  was  reached.  During  the 
year  very  harsh  articles  had  been  written  on  both 
sides.  Bishop  Erb  had  been  assailed  because  of 
words  said  in  favor  of  a  strict  adherence  to  the 
discipline.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  been  held 
in  suspicion  in  consequence  of  the  intemperate 
utterances  of  some  of  his  associates  in  Virginia 
Conference.  At  this  session  it  was  resolved  to 
institute  an  examination  into  the  cases  of  slave- 
holding,  take  action  upon  them  according  to 
their  nature,  give  an  impartial  statement  to  the 
next  General  Conference,  if  desired,  and  to  ask 
such  legislation  as  could  be  complied  with  in 
letter  as  well  as  in  spirit.  This  change  of  attitude 
betokened  better  things.  It  was  proposed  at  this 
session  to  allow  a  member  who  was  understood  to 
be  connected  with  a  secret  society  to  withdraw 
free  of  complaint.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  stated 
that  if  the  conference  insisted  on  taking  that 
course,  he  would  carry  the  matter  to  the  General 
Conference.     The  proposition  was  modified. 

After  this  session  of  Virginia  Conference,  as 
there  was  now  a  prospect  that  the  ministers  of 
the  conference  would  co-operate  in  a  sincere  and 
earnest   eftbrt  to  carry  out   the   spirit  of  the  dis- 


142  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

cipline,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  resolved  personally 
to  do  wliat  he  could  to  bring  about  so  desirable 
a  result. 

At  the  first  quarterly  conference  on  Churchville 
circuit,  where  he  lived,  he  arose,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  almost  all  who  were  present,  and  moved 
that  the  discipline  on  slavery  be  enforced  to  the 
letter.  Rev.  George  A.  Shuey,  his  brother-in- 
law,  seconded  the  motion.  What  made  the  case 
peculiarly  difficult  was  the  fact  that  of  the  two 
slave-holders  on  the  circuit,  one  was  Christian 
Shuey,  Mr.  Glossbrenner's  father-in-law.  Chris- 
tian Shuey,  from  some  cause,  purchased  a  female 
slave  shortly  after  1845,  who  with  her  children 
born  afterward,  constituted  all  the  slave  property 
owned  by  him.  Mr.  Shuey  had  already  matured 
plans  for  freeing  himself  from  the  evil  of  slavery, 
yet  he  was  not,  at  the  time,  prepared  to  come  up 
to  the  strict  requirements  of  the  discipline,  but 
spared  the  Church  all  difficulty  from  his  case,  by 
surrendering  his  active  relation  to  the  Church. 
The  other  case  was  that  of  a  young  num  in  the 
Church  who  became  a  slave-holder  by  marrying 
a  lady  who  subsequently  inherited  slaves.  He 
likewise  released  the  Church  from  all  difficulty  in 
his  case.  "Peculiar  cases"  of  slave-holding  were 
not  wanting  down  to  the  time  when  the  pen  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  with  one  stroke  brought  free- 
dom to  a  whole  race  of  slaves. 


LIFE    OF    GLoSSlillEXNER.  143 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  last  round  for  the  quacl- 
renniuin  was  made  on  the  West  District.  Miami 
Conference  lield  its  session  at  Pleasant  Ridge 
Chapel,  Butler  County,  Ohio,  beginning  Septem- 
ber 1, 1852.  At  the  request  of  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner,  a  presiding  elder's  district  was  formed  in 
Missouri,  and  H.  Kumler,  jr.,  that  veteran  mission- 
ary, elected  to  preside  over  the  same.  General 
Conference  was  asked  to  divide  the  conference  ter- 
ritory. Evergreen  College,  to  be  located  at  Seven 
Mile,  received  due  attention.  Indiana  Conference 
met  at  Bethel  Meeting-house,  Clarke  County, 
Indiana,  September  9th,  and  Wabash  Conference 
at  Otterbein  Church,  Coles  County,  Illinois,  Sep- 
tember 17th.  Iowa  Conference  met  at  Knoxville, 
Marion  County,  Iowa,  September  30th.  The 
territory  occupied  b}'  the  conference  had  ex- 
tended into  Missouri  and  w^ell  toward  the  western 
boundary  of  the  State  of  Iowa.  General  Con- 
ference was  asked  to  divide  the  conference. 
Illinois  Conference  convened  at  Rose  Hill  Church, 
Rock  Island  County,  Illinois,  October  9th.  This 
young  conference  had  grown  up  in  eight  years  to 
have  four  presiding  elders'  districts.  Steps  were 
taken  at  this  session  to  establish  an  institution  of 
learning. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  present  at  the  session 
of  Virginia  Conference,  beginning  February  11, 


14-1  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNEK. 

1853,  at  Mt.  Hebron,  Hardy  Couuty,  Virginia, 
Bishop  Erb  presiding.  On  Sabbatb  Bishop  Erb 
preached  in  German  and  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
in  English. 

In  tlie  eight  years  just  reviewed,  much  of 
Mr.  Glossbrenner's  traveling  was  by  steamboat 
on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  He  was  car- 
ried frequently  from  one  conference  to  another 
by  private  conveyance.  Near  home  he  made  his 
journeys  on  horseback.  To  a  limited  extent  he 
was  also  enabled  to  travel  by  railroad. 

In  this  period  of  his  labors  as  a  superintendent 
in  the  Church,  by  his  abiding  zeal  for  the  spirit- 
ual side  of  the  work  of  the  Church,  by  the  spirit 
of  devotion  which  he  sought  to  inspire  at  the 
conferences,  and  by  his  careful  and  firm  adminis- 
tration of  the  laws  of  the  Church,  he  did  much  to 
prepare  the  way  for  the  phenomenal  activity  and 
success  of  the  Church  in  the  period  on  which  it 
was  now  just  entering. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

General  Conference  of  1853 — Extension  of  the  Work — 
Depravity — Course  of  Reading — Organization  of  Mis- 
sionary Society — Slavery — East  District — First  Round 
— Presides  in  the  West — General  Conference  of  1857 — 
Infant  Baptism  —  Settlement  of  the  Depravity  Contro- 
versy— East  District — Church  Dedications — Last  Year 
of  the  Quadrennium — His  Services  and  Character — 
Relation  to  Slavery — Home  Life. 

The  eleventh  General  Conference  met  at  Mil- 
tonville,  Ohio,  May  9,  1853.  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner  and  Eishop  Edwards  presided  alternately. 
The  preceding  quadrennium  had  been  marked  by 
great  prosperity.  Beginning  about  1850,  a  tide 
of  unusual  success  set  in  and  extended  to  all  parts 
of  the  Church.  There  was  intense  zeal  in  extend- 
ing the  Church  into  new  parts,  and  in  developing 
and  strengthening  it  on  ground  already  occupied. 
The  General  Conference  of  1853  had  the  large 
conceptions  and  the  courage  to  respond  to  the 
new  and  enlarged  demands  upon  it.  Thus  with 
this  session  began  a  new  era  in  the  widening  and 
developing  of  the  work  of  the  Church.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner,  in  an  opening  address,  spoke  of  the 
encouraging  condition  of  the  Church,  of  the 
important  matters  that  would  come  before  the 
10  145 


146  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

coDfereuce,  especially  the  missionary  interest, 
and  closed  with  an  exhortation  to  the  members 
to  use  Christian  forbearance  in  their  treatment 
of  one  another  throuo-hout  the  deliberations  of 
the  session. 

The  great  subject  that  made  this  General  Con- 
ference and  the  one  succeeding  it  memorable,  was 
the  depravity  question.  Bishop  Glossbrenner's 
relation  to  the  controversy,  from  first  to  last,  was 
one  of  great  importance.  While  his  orthodoxy 
was  never  called  in  question  by  the  most  ortho- 
dox on  the.  radical  side,  he  yet  showed  great 
consideration  for  those  who  were  understood  to 
hold  liberal  or  unsound  views  on  the  subject.  He 
had  confidence  in  them  as  brethren,  and  believed 
that  the  differences  were  largely  differences  of 
views  rather  than  differences  in  the  doctrines 
held.  The  Church  has  always  shown  a  disposi- 
tion to  keep  clear  of  theological  paradoxes.  By 
some  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity  was  regarded 
as  the  companion  piece  of  Calvinism.  Since  1841, 
when  the  subject  of  depravity  was  made  a  part 
of  the  examination  of  ministers,  protests  had  not 
been  wanting.  The  controversy  had  been  earnest 
and  many  pens  had  been  employed.  Conferences 
were  distracted  and  the  feeling  of  distrust  was 
becoming  quite  general.  In  the  West,  especially, 
the  doctrine  of  total  depravity  was  resisted,  and 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  147 

many  in  the  East,  particularly  the  Germans,  re- 
garded it  as  unauthorized  and  subversive  of  the 
truth.  Early  in  the  session  Eev.  I,  Potter  moved 
that  the  question  to  applicants  be  made  to  read, 
•'  Do  you  believe  in  natural,  hereditary,  total 
depravity  as  held  by  the  Church?"  After  pro- 
tracted discussion,  resulting  only  in  wider 
separation,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  proposed  the 
following  amendment  or  explanation  which  was 
adopted:  "1.  That  by  depravity  is  meant,  not 
guilt  nor  liability  to  punishment,  but  the  absence 
of  holiness;  which  therefore  unfits  man  for 
heaven.  2.  By  natural  depravity  is  meant  that 
man  is  born  with  this  absence  of  holiness.  3.  By 
hereditary  depravity  is  meant  that  this  unholy 
state  is  inherited  from  Adam.  4.  By  total  deprav- 
ity is  not  meant  that  a  man  or  child  cannot 
become  more  unholy,  nor  that  he  is  irrecoverably 
unholy,  nor  that  he  is  a  mass  of  corruption,  but 
that  this  absence  of  holiness  must  be  predicated 
of  all  the  faculties  and  powers  of  the  soul."  The 
first  three  items  in  the  amendment  would  not  be 
opposed  by  many.  The  last  did  not  meet  the 
view,  or  did  not  express  all  of  the  meaning  of 
either  party,  but  was  accepted  as  a  compromise 
statement.  The  word  complete  was  substituted 
for  the  word  total  in  the  resolution  and  in  the 
amendment,  being  thus   more  in  harmony  with 


148  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

the  explanation  given  in  tlie  fourth  item  of  the 
amendment.  But  even  after  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner's  amendment  had  prevailed,  the  resolution 
was  carried  by  a  majority  of  but  twenty-three  to 
nineteen.  The  prominent  opponents  of  the  res- 
olution were  J.  Russel,  J.  Terrel,  A.  A.  Sellers, 
and  F.  R.  S.  Byrd.  Rev.  Wm.  Davis,  though  not 
a  member  of  the  conference,  was  a  leading  repre- 
sentative of  the  liberal  view.  The  subject  will  be 
noticed  again  in  connection  with  the  proceedings 
of  the  next  General  Conference. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  appointed  one  of  a 
committee  of  five  to  prepare  a  course  of  reading 
for  licentiates.  A.  course  had  been  outlined  in 
1841,  but  it  was  not  made  compulsory.  The  two 
following  General  Conferences  were  satisfied  to 
stop  with  the  requirement  that  applicants  be  such 
as  would  pursue  a  course  of  study  in  books  rec- 
ommended. The  present  regular  and  compulsory 
course  marked  a  great  advance. 

The  General  Conference  constituted  eight  new 
conferences;  namely.  Rock  River,  Erie,  Des 
Moines,  Oregon,  Michigan,  Missouri,  German, 
and  Auglaize,  four  of  them  being  mission  con- 
ferences, and  some  of  these  not  being  stronger 
than  one  of  the  mission  fields  of  the  older  confer- 
ences. The  recog-nized  conferences  were  thuj 
made  to  number  twenty-two. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  149 

One  of  the  most  important  acts  of  the  General 
Conference  of  1853  was  the  organization  of  an 
efficient  general  missionary  society.  The  Chnrch 
was  a  missionary  church  from  the  beginning.  In 
1816  the  first  beginning  of  a  missionary  society 
was  made  in  Miami  Conference,  and  a  small  sum 
was  subscribed.  Two  years  later  the  Old  Confer- 
ence also  took  action.  Regular  effort,  however, 
was  not  continued.  In  1819  the  conference  in 
the  East  after  the  preachers  had  received  their 
full  amounts, — no  one  had  received  more  than 
one  hundred  dollars, — it  was  found  that  there 
remained  in  the  treasury  sixty-six  dollars  and 
twenty-four  cents,  and  it  was  voted  that  this 
amount,  with  fifty  dollars  specially  contributed, 
be  sent  to  the  "poor  preachers  in  Ohio."  Scioto 
and  Muskingum  conferences  formed  home  mis- 
sionary societies  in  1838.  Virginia  Conference 
organized  in  1839.  Other  conferences  followed. 
The  General  Conference  of  1841  formed  a 
constitution  for  a  home  and  foreign  missionaiy 
society,  and  elected  officers.  The  constitution 
contemplated  the  organization  of  local  societies 
throughout  the  Church,  instead  of  recognizing 
the  annual  conferences  as  branches,  and  all  the 
members  of  the  Church  as  members.  Outside 
of  the  bishops,  the  officers  were  all  selected  from 
one  conference — the  Scioto.     A  new  board,  con- 


150  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

stituted  in  the  same  manner,  was  elected  in  1845 
and  re-elected  in  1849.  [N'otliiug  was  done  before 
1852  when  two  missionaries  were  appointed  to 
Oregon.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  one  of  the 
vice-presidents  elected  in  1845.  Of  the  board  as 
constituted  in  1853  he  was  made  the  president. 

The  General  Conference  at  this  session  ordered 
the  removal  of  the  Telescope  office  from  Circleville, 
Ohio,  to  Dayton,  Ohio.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was 
favorable  to  a  change,  and  had  voted  four  years 
before  in  favor  of  removal  to  Cincinnati. 

At  this  session  it  was  made  plain  enough  that 
the  law  of  the  Church  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
"  said  what  it  meant  and  meant  what  it  said,"  as 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  previously  stated  in 
reference  to  the  cases  of  slave-holding  that  yet 
remained  in  Virginia  Conference.  In  view  of 
the  fact  that  opposition  to  slavery  raised  up  such 
a  barrier  to  the  progress  of  the  Church  in  slave 
territory,  and  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
since  slavery  has  been  overthrown  the  prejudice 
against  the  Church  proves  scarcely  less  a  barrier, 
some  have  concluded  that  it  would  have  been 
wiser  and  better  for  the  Church  to  have  gone  on 
preaching  the  gospel  and  seeking  the  salvation 
of  men,  without  enacting  and  enforcing  restrictive 
rules  on  slave-holding.  But  while,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  early  church,  it  may  be  allowed  to  be  for- 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENXER.  151 

bearing  when  there  is,  on  such  evils  as  slavery, 
neither  an  intelligent  judgment  nor  an  awakened 
conscience,  there  comes  a  time,  after  the  under- 
standing and  the  conscience  have  been  sufficiently 
addressed,  when  policy,  to  say  nothing  of  right- 
eousness and  justice,  demands  that  no  account 
shall  be  taken  of  present  costs  and  particular 
losses. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  re-elected  bishop,  his 
associates  being  D.  Edwards  and  L.  Davis,  the 
last  named  being  elected  for  the  first  time.  Bishop 
Davis  entered  the  ministry  in  Scioto  Conference. 
From  the  time  when  Otterbein  University  was 
planned,  he  became  the  acknowledged  leader  and 
the  chief  burden-bearer  in  the  educational  work 
of  the  Church.  Even  now  he  could  not  be 
wholly  spared  from  what  seemed  to  be  pre- 
destined as  his  life  work.  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
was  assigned  to  the  East  district,  including  Vir- 
ginia, Pennsylvania,  East  Pennsylvania,  Alle- 
gheny, Muskingum,  Erie,  and  Scioto  conferences. 
A  bishop,  if  married,  was  to  receive  the  regular 
salary  of  a  married  itinerant,  being  at  first  one 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars,  then  two  hundred, 
and  being  made  at  this  time  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  and  traveling  expenses,  with 
house  rent  not  exceeding  forty  dollars.  In  the 
early  history  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  a 


152  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

preacher  received  eighty  dollars,  and  if  married, 
his  wife  received  eighty  dollars.  The  General 
Conference  of  1853  closed  with  "  an  affectionate 
address  by  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  a  fervent  prayer 
by  Bishop  Davis,  and  the  benediction  by  Bishop 
Edwards." 

September  30,  1853,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  met 
with  the  missionary  board  in  a  called  meeting  at 
Dayton,  Ohio.  At  this  time  the  first  steps  were 
taken  that  resulted  in  the  sending  of  three 
missionaries  to  Africa  in  January,  1855.  All  of 
the  missions  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  the  methods 
for  obtaining  the  necessary  money  for  missionary 
purposes,  received  due  attention.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  a  long  line  of  missionary  meetings, 
and  of  wide-reaching  efforts  to  extend  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  Rev.  John  C.  Bright  was  the 
enthusiastic  and  able  corresponding  secretary, 
and  in  response  to  his  efforts  liberal  contributions 
flowed  into  the  treasury. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  first  conference  was  the 
Scioto  which  met  at  Morris  meeting-house,  Pick- 
away County,  Ohio,  October  5,  1853.  He  was 
assisted  by  Bishops  Edwards  and  Davis.  The 
time  for  the  presence  of  the  representatives  of 
general  interests  was  at  hand.  Missionary  Sec- 
retary J.  C.  Bright,  received  in  cash  and  subscrip- 
tions fifteen  hundred  dollars  for  the  Missionary 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  153 

Society.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  next  attended  the 
joint -session  of  the  Muskingum  and  Erie  confer- 
ences, beginning  October  13th,  at  Newman's 
Creek  Chapel.  At  this  conference  the  Missionary 
Society  received  fifteen  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
in  cash  and  subscriptions.  The  superintendent 
was  requested  to  preach  in  his  travels  through  the 
conference  district,  whenever  it  might  be  advisa- 
ble, on  the  subject  of  depravity — an  evidence  that 
such  preaching  was  hardly  necessary.  One 
morning  at  this  session,  when  the  conference  was 
called  to  order,  no  quorum  was  present.  The 
Bishop  sent  messengers  to  summon  the  absentees. 
They  were  found  busy  clubbing  down  chestnuts 
from  the  chestnut  trees  with  which  the  church 
was  surrounded.  When  the  truants  returned,  the 
Bishop  gave  them  such  a  fatherly  admonition  as 
won  their  hearts  to  him,  and  at  the  same  time 
gave  them  a  loftier  ideal  of  their  duties  as  mem- 
bers of  the  conference  and  as  ministers. 

Allegheny  Conference  met  January  5,  1854,  at 
Johnstown,  Pennsylvania.  At  this  session,  "after 
an  able  address  by  Brother  Bright,  followed  by 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  in  his  usual  pointed  and 
feeling  manner,"  the  amount  of  two  thousand, 
three  hundred  and  seventy-seven  dollars  was 
pledged  for  the  cause  of  missions.  January  12th, 
East  Pennsylvania  Conference  met  at  Lebanon, 


154  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNEIl. 

Pennsylvania.  J.  C.  Bright  represented  the 
missionary  interest  and  received  for  the  mission- 
ary work  one  thousand  dolhirs.  Rev.  11.  Kum- 
ler,  jr.,  represented  the  interests  of  the  Telescope 
office.  January  26th  Pennsylvania  Conference 
met.  A  liberal  response  was  made  to  the  ap- 
jDeals  for  general  interests.  On  Sabbath  Bishop 
Glossbreimer  preached  in  English  and  Rev.  II. 
Kumler  in  German.  Virginia  Conference  met 
at  Edenburg,  Virginia.  liev.  J.  C.  Bright  pre- 
sented with  success  the  interests  represented  by 
him.  The  sessions  of  all  the  conferences  held 
by  Bishop  Glossbrenner  on  this  round  were  char- 
acterized by  harmony.  The  temperance  question 
occupied  unusual  prominence.  Especially  was 
there  manifested  great  devotion  to  the  Church, 
along  with  unfaltering  confidence  in  its  mission 
and  success. 

Bishop  Glossbrcnner's  round  of  conferences 
for  the  year  1854-5,  began  with  Scioto,  at  Wester- 
ville,  Ohio,  September  26,  1854,  and  closed  with 
Virginia,  at  Myersville,  Maryland,  January  26, 
1855.  Muskingum  Conference  convened  at 
Crooked  Run,  Tuscarawas  County,  Ohio;  Erie 
at  Bazetta,  Ohio;  Allegheny  at  Mt.  Pleasant, 
Pennsylvania;  East  Pennsylvania  at  Reading, 
Pennsylvania;  and  Pennsylvania  at  Chambers- 
burg,  Pennsylvania.     The  general  interests  of  tlie 


LIFE    OF    ULOSSBRENNER.  155 

Church  were  presented  by  persons  appointed. 
Bishop  GlosslDrenner  sapported  these  interests  hy 
his  influence  and  advocacy,  but  his  inflaence  was 
especially  felt  in  encouraging  the  preachers  in 
their  regular  work.  Conference  sessions  were 
begun  and  closed  by  earnest  exhortations  by  him. 
Those  receiving  license  to  preach  and  those 
elected  to  elder's  orders  were  earnestly  enjoined 
to  faithfulness.  The  minutes  for  the  session  of 
Erie  Conference  say:  "The  conference  sermon 
w^as  just  what  we  needed.  The  power  of 
God  accompanied  the  word.  Sensations  were 
awakened  and  resolves  made  while  Brother 
Glossbrenner  was  delivering  his  solemn  charge, 
that  will  certainly  tell  on  the  destinies  of  many 
immortal  souls."  In  his  annual  report  he  speaks 
of  the  strong  and  weak  points  of  the  different 
conferences.  He  closed  his  report  with  the  follow- 
ing characteristic  exhortation :  "  In  conclusion 
let  me  say  to  the  ministers  on  my  district,  let  it 
he  your  highest  ambition  to  be  successful  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Stand  fast;  be 
of  one  mind;  live  in  peace;  and  may  the  God  of 
all  grace  and  comfort  he  with  you,  is  the  prayer 
of  your  fellow-laborer  in  the  gospel."  There  was 
collected  for  him  the  amount  of  two  hundred  and 
nine  dollars  and  thirteen  cents  above  the  disci- 
plinary allowance.  This  was  applied  to  other 
purposes. 


156  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

In  the  fall  of  1855  Bishop  Glossbrenner  presided 
at  all  of  the  conferences  of  Bishop  Davis  with  the 
exception  of  the  Auglaize,  then  called  Maumee, 
and  the  Michigan.  He  was  this  quadrennium, 
the  only  one  of  the  bishops  who  had  both  hands 
free  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  superintendent. 
Bishop  Davis  was  largely  occupied  with  his  duties 
in  connection  with  Otterbein  University,  and 
Bishop  Edwards  had  the  additional  work  of  edit- 
ing the  Unity  3Iagazme  and  the  Children's  Friend. 
The  first  conference  attended  was  the  Des  Moines, 
beginning  August  8th  at  Attica,  Iowa.  The  con- 
ference asked  the  next  General  Conference  to 
rescind  the  depravity  clause.  This  could  not 
have  been  very  gratifying  to  the  Bishop.  Twelve 
new  preachers  were  received  and  the  progress  of 
the  conference  was  very  gratifying.  Iowa  Con- 
ference met  at  Muscatine,  Iowa.  Is'ine  ministers 
were  received  on  transfers  from  other  conferences, 
among  them  Solomon  "Weaver  from  Muskingum, 
The  first  stepp  were  taken  that  led  to  the  found- 
in  s:  of  "Western  Colloo^e.  A  resolution  unfavorable 
to  the  union  of  the  United  Brethren  and  the  Wes- 
leyan  denominations  was  adopted. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  next  met  with  Rock  River 
Conference  at  Hazel  Green,  "Wisconsin.  The 
Bishop's  Sabbath  sermon  greatly  encouraged  and 
ytrenscthened  the   itinerants.     Rev.  J.  C.  Bris^lit, 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  157 

who  accompanied  him,  represented  successfully 
the  missionary  interest  and  in  other  ways  exerted 
an  excellent  influence.  St.  Joseph  Conference 
met  at  l!Torth  Manchester,  Indiana,  and  Sandusky 
Conference  at  Newville,  Indiana.  At  the  latter 
conference  Bishop  Glossbrenner  ruled  that  no 
member  could  be  expelled  without  trial.  At  this 
session  every  preacher  was  asked  whether  he  be- 
longed to  a  secret  society,  and  all  replied  in  the 
negative.  In  another  conference,  not  held  by 
Bishop  Glossbrenner,  every  preacher  in  charge  of 
a  work  was  required  to  ask  each  of  his  members 
the  same  question.  Sandusky  Conference  voted 
in  favor  of  the  proposed  union  with  the  Wes- 
leyans. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  then  presided  at  the 
sessions  of  all  of  his  own  conferences.  He  or- 
ganized Canada  Conference  April  19,  1856.  The 
ministers  present  were  I.  Sloane,  C.  E.  Price,  R. 
Light,  and  P.  Flack.  At  an  earlier  period  Rev.  J. 
Erb  had  been  a  successful  missionary  in  Canada. 
At  its  first  session,  Canada  Conference  received 
four  new  members,  among  them  A.  B.  Sherk. 

The  last  year  of  the  quadrennium  Bishop  Davis 
held  no  conferences,  his  conferences  being  held 
by  Bishops  Glossbrenner  and  Edwards.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  held  the  Miami  for  Bishop  Edwards, 
and  Bisliop  Edwards  held  the   Scioto  for  him  in 


158  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

return.  The  conferences  presided  over  were,  be- 
sides his  own,  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  Rock  River, 
and  German,  with  Miami.  German  Conference 
l)elonged  to  Bishop  Edwards'  district.  He  pre- 
sided again  this  year  over  Canada  Conference. 

lie  had  now  closed  his  work  of  presiding  over 
tlie  conferences  for  the  present  term.  Several  of 
the  conferences  at  their  last  sessions  passed  re- 
solutions requesting  his  re-election  to  the  super- 
intendencj.  As  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Missions,  and  as  president  of  that  body,  he  had 
labored  earnestly  for  the  success  of  the  mission- 
ary work.  The  publishing  interests  enlisted  his 
earnest  sympathy  and  support.  He  formed  the 
closest  attachments  for  Rev.  J.  C.  Bright  who 
accompanied  him  in  behalf  of  the  missionary 
work,  and  for  Mr.  John  Dodds,  who  had  already 
begun  to  represent  the  publishing  interests.  His 
regard  for  the  educational  work  may  best  be 
indicated  through  his  own  words,  used  in  1856: 
"  I  look  with  pleasure  and  delight  at  our  institu- 
tions of  learning.  They  shall  have  my  prayers 
and  influence  in  their  behalf;  for  they  have  been, 
now  are,  and,  I  hope,  will  continue  to  be  a  bless- 
ing to  the  Church."  Yet  with  reference  to 
candidates  for  the  ministry,  he  said:  "Let  us  by 
no  means  discourage  good  men  who  are  filled 
with    the   Holy   Ghost,    even   though    they  in  a 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBREXNER.  159 

literary  point  of  view  are  not  so  well  qualified  as 
we  might  desire." 

The  twelfth  General  Conference  met  at  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  May  12,  1857.  In  consequence  of 
the  large  number  of  new  conferences  created  at 
the  preceding  session,  the  membership  of  the 
present  conference  was  greatly  increased,  there 
being  sixty-two  delegates  in  attendance.  Pros- 
perity had  crowned  the  labors  of  the  preceding- 
four  years.  The  United  Brethren  Church  had 
obtained  its  full  share  of  the  results  of  the  great 
revival  throughout  the  United  States  in  1856. 
The  bishops,  in  their  address,  said:  "The  object 
for  which  our  fathers,  under  God,  founded  the 
Church,  namely,  the  extension  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom,  in  the  salvation  of  souls,  is  the  all- 
absorbing  theme  among  our  ministers  and  people. 
The  great  Head  of  the  church  has  been  with  us 
in  a  remarkable  degree."  The  statistics  of  the 
Church,  the  first  that  were  carefully  compiled 
from  actual  reports,  showed  the  membership  to 
be  61,399.  There  were  difi'erences  of  opinion  on 
many  subjects  that  came  before  the  conference, 
but  beneath  all  difterences  there  was  a  dominating 
spirit  of  unity. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  moved  that  the  committee 
on  revision  be  instructed  to  report  favorably  to 
laying  the  question  of  lay  delegation  before  the 


160  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER, 

Church.  Though  the  motion  did  not  prevail,  he 
thus  for  himself  indicated  a  conviction  to  which 
he  remained  deeply  devoted. 

The  question  of  the  subjects  of  baptism  had 
for  some  time  occasioned  unrest  and  irritation  in 
the  Church.  Some  persons  spoke  disparagingly 
of  infant  baptism.  He  earnestly  sought,  both  at 
this  and  the  preceding  session  of  General  Confer- 
ence, to  have  the  convictions  and  practice  of  all 
respected.  The  spirit  of  concession  and  liberality 
at  the  founding  of  the  Church  certainly  took  for 
granted  that  there  should  be  the  same  liberty  as 
to  the  subjects  of  baptism  that  there  was  to  be  as 
to  the  mode.  This  view  prevailed  at  this  session 
of  the  General  Conference. 

The  question  awaited  with  most  interest  was 
the  depravity  question.  The  settlement  at  the 
preceding  session  was  no  settlement  at  all,  the 
real  difficulty  not  being  touched.  After  various 
motions  were  made,  the  subject  was  referred  to 
the  committee  on  revision,  who,  after  mature 
consideration,  reported  the  following  question  for 
candidates  for  the  ministry :  "  Do  you  believe  that 
man,  abstract  of  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  is  fallen  from  original  righteousness,  and 
is  inclined  to  evil  and  only  evil  continually?" 
The  subject  was  pondered,  rather  than  discussed. 
Almost  all  seemed  inclined  to  accept  the  report 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  161 

as  the  settlement  of  a  question  that  had  given  rise 
to  grave  anxieties.  The  sincerity  of  both  sides 
was  conceded.  Bishop  Edwards  was  in  the  chair. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  standing  near  him 
resting  his  hands  on  the  back  of  a  chair.  One  or 
two  members  were  content  to  hold  their  misg-iv- 
iiigs  in  silence.  The  question  was  put.  The 
result  of  the  vote  was  fifty-seven  in  favor  of  the 
ref)ort,  to  one  opposing.  The  joy  produced  by 
l)assing  safely  this  crisis  caused  many  to  shed 
tears.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  leaned  forward  over 
the  chair  on  which  he  was  resting  his  hands,  and 
wept  like  a  child.  The  question  was  settled, 
and  has  remained  settled.  The  reason  why  a 
settlement  was  possible  may  quite  readily  be  seen. 
There  was  not  a  radical  difference  in  doctrine,  but 
rather  a  difference  in  view,  caused  by  looking 
from  different  standpoints.  One  side  said  that 
we  must  take  man  as  he  is  found,  as  he  exhibits 
himself,  that  man  destitute  of  all  noble  feeling 
and  purpose,  is  purely  a  hypothetical  being,  that 
divine  grace  had  kept  man  from  passing  into  such 
character.  Thus  they  took  the  standpoint  subse- 
quent to  the  bestowment  of  grace,  and  from  this 
standpoint  it  would  be  difficult  to  prove  them 
incorrect.  The  other  side  held  that  there  were 
points  that  this  view  did  not  reach,  and  that  it  was 
easy   from  this  standpoint  at  once  to  minify  the 


162  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBllENNEh, 

loss  that  man  had  siistahied,  and  the  grace  that 
brought  salvation.  Carried  out,  this  second  view- 
meant  that  actual  man,  not  liypotheKcal  man,  is 
found  back  of  the  grace  that  has  been  lent  him; 
that  a  definition  of  man's  moral  character  should 
take  into  view  what  he  holds  in  his  own  right, 
and  not  what  he  has  the  mere  use  of,  even  though 
grace  should  have  continued  it  with  our  first 
parents,  and  it  be  descended  in  the  form  of  an 
economy  under  regular  laws  of  inheritance  to  all 
of  their  posterity.  This  grace,  received  without 
volition,  does  not  root  out  or  cover  all  unholiness. 
It  may  be  viewed  as  a  platform  sustaining  man 
on  a  salvable  plane,  and  continuing  to  him  moral 
ability.  It  may  also  be  regarded  under  the  figure 
of  a  covering,  through  the  crevices  and  seams  of 
which  unutterable  corruption  and  hopeless  weak- 
ness may  be  seen,  and  a  glimpse  obtained  of  what 
man  is  in  himself.  Now  which  one  of  these 
standpoints  should  be  taken?  The  same  men 
sometimes  take  one  and  sometimes  the  other. 
The  Scriptures,  to  a  certain  extent,  do  the  same 
thing.  It  is  settled,  however,  by  the  experience 
of  the  church  from  the  apostles  down,  that  when 
men  are  speaking  theologically,  in  which  case  the 
view  must  answer  to  the  strictest  fact,  the  stand- 
point anterior  to  grace  must  be  taken.  Confusion 
and  ruinous  inferences  are  thus  avoided.      Man  is 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  163 

made  humble  and  divine  grace  is  honored.  At 
the  same  time  men  are  to  be  warned  that  they 
will  be  held  accountable  for  all  that  grace  has  put 
within  their  reach,  are  to  be  addressed  as  at 
present  capacitated,  without  its  being  necessary  to 
explain  at  every  moment  that  this  strength  was 
forfeited,  but  in  its  present  measure  graciously 
continued.  Thus,  according  to  our  purpose,  we 
may  use  now  one  conception  and  now  the  other. 
"We  must  however  know,  and  be  able  to  make 
known  the  standpoint  that  we  take.  The 
definition  as  adopted  in  1857  had  been  broached 
at  the  General  Conference  four  years  before,  but 
both  parties  were  trying  to  reconcile  their  views 
from  the  post-promise  standpoint,  while  much  in 
the  language  used  suited  better  the  opposite 
standpoint.  In  the  history  of  differences  in 
ecclesiastical  bodies  there  are  few  parallels  to  the 
happy  issue  above  described.  Happy  was  it  for 
the  conference  and  the  Church  that  a  settlement 
that  did  not  compromise  truth,  or  involve  unnec- 
essary humiliation  or  bitterness,  was  reached. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  again  re-elected. 
Bishops  Edwards  and  Davis  being  continued  as 
his  associates.  He  was  returned  to  the  East  dis- 
trict. J.  Russel  was  elected  German  bishop. 
A  very  impressive  address  was  delivered  by 
Bishop  Glossbrenner,  a  fervent  prayer  was  offered 


164  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

by  Bishop  Davis,  and  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  Bishop  Edwards. 

The  first  year  Bishop  Glossbrenner  held  Mus- 
kingum, Erie,  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  East 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Canada,  and  Parkers- 
burg  conferences.  The  last  named  was  organized 
by  him.  Among  the  charter  members  of  this 
conference  were  J.  Bachtel,  Z.  Warner  and  J.  W. 
Perry.  The  second  and  third  years  he  visited  the 
same  conferences.  lie  traveled  largely  through 
his  district,  making  special  visits  to  Tennessee 
and  Canada.  In  this  period  he  labored  also  for 
the  establishment  of  the  first  Ena^lish  (/ono-reo^a- 
tion  in  Baltimore. 

He  ofiiciated  frequently  at  the  dedication  of 
churches.  In  ITovember,  1859,  he  dedicated  a 
new  church  on  Ilagerstown  Circuit.  He  then 
went  to  Morgan  County,  Virginia,  to  dedicate 
another  church.  A  large  congregation  assembled, 
filling  the  house  and  occupying  the  ground  about 
it.  Just  as  he  was  reading  his  text,  news  came 
that  the  governor  of  the  State  had  issued  orders 
that  the  militia  of  Morgan  County  must  be  in 
Bath  by  two  o'clock.  Great  excitement  prevailed, 
but  still  the  congregation  was  held  together. 
But  just  as  the  appeal  was  about  to  be  made  for  a 
small  amount  of  money  to  clear  the  house  of  in- 
debtedness,  other   exciting    news   was    received. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  165 

and  the  congregation  broke  up  completely,  some 
escaping  through  the  windows  and  all  disappear- 
ing beyond  recall.  This  was  in  the  time  of  the 
John  Brown  excitement,  in  the  period  between 
Brown's  attack  on  Harper's  Ferry  and  his  execu- 
tion. Here  we  have  a  portent  of  the  long  and 
bloody  struggle  and  the  great  social  disturbances 
that  were  at  the  door. 

In  noticing  tlie  work  of  the  last  year  of  the 
quadrennium,  we  will  be  a  little  more  minute  and 
full,  as  this  will  prove  the  last  year  for  a  consider- 
able period  when  Bishop  Glossbrenner's  labors  will 
extend  over  any  considerable  portion  of  the  Church. 
The  most  of  the  conferences  of  Bishop  Davis  this 
year  were  held  by  others,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  and 
Rev.  J.  Lawrence  holding  the  largest  number  of 
them.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  first  met  with  Min- 
nesota Conference  at  Bice  Lake,  Minnesota, 
August  10,  1860.  Among  the  ministers  present 
were  E.  Clow,  M.  L.  Tibbetts,  J.  Haney  and  J.  W. 
Fulkerson,  the  two  latter  having  been  co-laborers 
Avithhim  in  Virginia.  He  next  held  Iowa  Confer- 
ence at  West  Union,  Iowa.  Among  the  members 
present  were  S.  "Weaver,  D.  Wenrich,  M.  Bowman, 
W.  W.  Bichardson  and  C.  Briggs.  Bev.  George 
Miller,  a  member  of  acknowledged  ability,  whose 
labors  had  been  mostly  bestowed  in  the  East,  had 
died  during  the  year.     Bev.   J.  Lawrence,  the 


166  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

editor  of  the  Religious  Telescope,  added  the  inspir- 
ation of  liis  presence.  Rock  River  Conference 
was  held  at  Spring  Ilill,  Illinois.  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  preached  the  conference  sermon  with  his 
accustomed  earnestness  and  power.  Bishops 
Glossbrenner  and  Davis  were  both  present  at  the 
session  of  Miami  Conference  at  Beavertown, 
Ohio,  and  assisted  Bishop  Edwards  in  presiding. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  preached  the  conference 
sermon. 

The  first  conference  on  his  own  district  was 
the  Muskingum  which  met  at  Perryville,  Ohio. 
J.  Weaver  was  elected  chairman.  J.  A.  Crayton 
was  chosen  one  of  the  presiding  elders.  Many 
members,  year  by  year,  had  been  received  into 
this  conference,  and  many  preachers  had  been 
raised  up.  The  conference  suli'ered  much,  how- 
ever, from  emigration,  ISTearly  a  thousand  mem- 
bers had  been  received  during  the  past  year.  On 
Sabbath,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  preached  in  the 
"  leafy  grove."  Erie  Conference  mot  at  Pleasant- 
ville,  Pennsylvania.  Sixteen  preachers  were  re- 
ceived, besides  those  coming  on  transfers,  and 
eight  were  ordained.  More  than  a  thousand 
members  had  been  received  into  the  Church. 
There  were  five  presiding  elder's  districts.  J.  G. 
Baldwin,  C.  Carter,  and  J.  Hill  were  among  the 
members  present.     Allegheny  Conference  ]\\ot  at 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  167 

Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  Among  those  ordained 
were  H.  A.  Thompson,  G.  W.  M.  Rigor,  and 
E.  B.  Kephart.  I.  Potter,  J.  R.  Sitman  and  J.  B. 
Resler  were  elected  the  presiding  elders.  East 
Pennsylvania  Conference  convened  at  Pine  Grove, 
Pennsylvania.  Nearly  a  thousand  members  had 
been  received.  John  Christian  Smith,  one  of  the 
devoted  pioneer  preachers,  had  died  during  the 
year.  Among  those  ordained  were  E.  Light  and 
J.  Young.  The  conference  requested  their  dele- 
gates to  vote  for  the  re-election  of  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner.  Pennsylvania  Conference  met  at  York, 
Pennsylvania.  Here  Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  his 
home  with  his  brother,  Hon.  A.  J.  Glossbrenner. 
On  Sabbath  B.  Eberly,  II.  AY.  Rebok,  and  II.  Y. 
Hummelbaugh  were  ordained. 

Virginia  Conference  met  at  Hagerstown,  Mary- 
land. Ex-Bishop  Erb  was  present  and  was  asked 
to  serve  as  chairman.  Rev.  S.  Yonneida  was 
present,  representing  the  publishing  house.  J. 
!Markwood  was  elected  presiding  elder  over  the 
whole  conference  formed  into  one  district.  The 
setting  off  of  Parkersburg  Conference  in  1857 
had  greatly  reduced  the  extent  of  territory.  The 
work  in  Virginia  Conference  was  difficult,  espe- 
cially for  an  anti-slavery  church.  But  the  hard- 
ship along  with  the  steadfast  devotion  of  the 
Church    developed  an  earnestness  and  intensity 


168  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

of  life  rarely  found  elsewhere.  The  preachers  of 
the  conference  laid  great  stress  on  conversion  and 
experimental  godliness.  Preachers  and  people 
were  characterized  by  a  thrilling  experience  and 
a  bold  confession  of  Christ.  Held  back  by  prej- 
udice and  depleted  by  emigration,  Virginia 
Conference  was  yet  far  from  being  a  forlorn 
hope.  Parkersburg  Conference  met  at  Union 
Church,  Mason  County,  Virginia,  The  confer- 
ence was  growing  rapidly.  A  subscription  for 
missions  was  taken,  amounting  to  over  five 
hundred  dollars.  At  the  various  annual  confer- 
ence sessions,  year  by  year,  amounts,  varying 
from  a  few  hundred  dollars  to  two  or  three  thou- 
sand, were  subscribed  either  for  missions  or  for 
educational  purposes.  Canada  Conference  con- 
vened at  Young's  Chapel,  Niagara  Circuit,  March 
28,  1861.  A.  B.  Sherk,  D.  B.  Sherk,  and  J.  G. 
Mosher  were  present. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  now  filled  the  office 
of  bishop  for  sixteen  years.  The  great  civil  war, 
which  was  just  at  the  threshold,  made  a  broad 
gap  in  his  work  as  a  bishop  in  the  Church,  thus 
dividing  into  two  not  very  unequal  parts  the 
period  that  he  spent  in  the  bishop's  office.  His 
work  before  the  war  was  somewhat  dissimilar  to 
wdiat  it  was  afterward,  as  the  character  of  the 
Church  in   the   later   period  was   quite  difterent 


Eng.'byJSugustus  Rol)in,N>- 


BISHOP  J-  J.  GL0SSBRENNER,1859 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBKEiNNEU.  169 

from  what  it  was  in  the  earlier  period.  In  the 
earlier  period  the  Church  was  more  to  itself;  in- 
dividual feeling  was  stronger  and  was  given  a 
freer  field.  Denominational  zeal  was  intense  and 
triumphant.  In  these  sixteen  j-ears  Bishop 
Glosshrenner  had  ordained  over  three  hundred 
ministers. 

In  the  pulpit  he  was  even,  strong,  and  possessed 
of  an  ineft'able  power  in  reaching  the  hearts  and 
exciting  the  best  feelings  of  men.  In  an  article 
written  in  1856,  the  following,  in  respect  to  his 
energy  in  preaching,  occurs:  "  ITo  preacher  of 
ordinary  constitution  should  copy  his  voice,  un- 
less he  is  tired  of  his  life.  Not  one  man  in  a 
thousand  could  preach  a  quarter  of  a  century  as 
Mr.  Glosshrenner  has  done.  Let  no  young  man 
out  of  love  for  the  man  attempt  to  modulate  his 
voice  a  la  Glosshrenner.'"  His  conference  sermons 
were  noted  for  their  suitability  to  the  ministers, 
to  whom  they  were  addressed.  One  of  his  favorite 
texts  was:  "  But  none  of  these  things  move  me," 
etc.,  (Acts  20 :  24.)  A  number  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful itinerants  of  Allegheny  Conference  once 
came  up  to  the  session  of  the  conference  and 
asked  to  be  given  a  local  relation.  On  Sabbath 
the  Bishop  preached  with  great  power  from  the 
text  just  quoted,  showing  the  solemn  grandeur  of 
the  work  of  the  faithful  minister.     The  preachers 


170  LITE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

reversed  their  decision,  and,  though  late,  were 
glad  to  take  work. 

In  his  examination  of  ministers,  he  was  some- 
times quite  strict,  using  what  he  was  pleased  to 
call  the  "  fine  sieve."  His  presence  and  example 
were  ever  a  stimulus  to  higher  character  and 
truer  self-respect  as  men,  and  greater  faithfulness 
as  Christian  ministers.  When  to  talk  meant  to 
vie  with  others  in  light  conversation  or  in  any 
way  a  sacrifice  of  self-respect,  he  held  his  peace. 

llis  health  was  firm  and  his  endurance  un- 
surpassed, llis  appearance  was  still  youthful. 
His  name  had  been  so  long  before  the  Church 
that  some  who  liad  not  seen  him  thought  him  to 
be  an  elderly  man.  On  one  occasion,  on  being 
introduced  to  an  aged  brother,  he  was  asked  if 
he  was  old  Father  Glossbrenner's  son.  He  replied 
that  he  was  the  old  gentleman  himself.  With 
the  exception  of  at  times  wearing  short  side  whis- 
kers his  face  was  uniformly  clean-shaven.  It  was 
something  of  a  motto  with  him  that  a  minister 
should  have  a  clean  face  and  a  pure  heart.  He 
impressed  everyone  that  tidiness  and  gentility 
were  entirely  consistent  with  godliness. 

About  1855  he  sold  his  phice  on  Middle  River, 
where  he  had  been  living  since  1843,  with  a  view 
to  moving  to  Ohio;  but  on  the  death,  in  the  same 
year,  of   his  daughter  who  had  been  married  to 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  171 

Rev.  D.  K.  Flickiiiger  and  was  living  in  Ohio,  he 
changed  his  purpose  and  took  up  his  residence  in 
Churchville.  Churchville  assumed  the  character 
of  a  village  about  1880,  and  in  1847  attained  the 
rank  of  a  post-office  village.  It  still  remains  a 
small  hamlet  sequestered  amid  lofty  hills.  In 
plain  view  about  it  are  bold  heights  and  the 
outlines  of  mountain  ranges.  It  is  the  trading 
center  of  the  broken  and  romantic  country  about 
it.  It  owed  its  name  to  the  fact  that  two  churches 
were  located  there  at  an  early  day.  More  lately 
the  churches  have  been  increased  to  four,  not 
including  a  small  meeting-house  occupied  by  the 
colored  people.  By  the  village  flows  a  stream, 
known  as  Jennings'  Branch,  which  gave  its  name 
to  the  place  before  a  village  name  was  necessary. 
The  people  of  Churchville  and  the  neighboring 
country,  like  the  people  of  Augusta  County  in 
general,  are  of  the  most  sturdy  and  most  intelli- 
gent classes  of  the  Old  Dominion.  In  the  South 
the  best  and  most  honored  people  have  not  been 
wont  to  seek  the  towns.  In  or  adjoining  this 
quiet,  unpretending  village,  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
found  a  home  congenial  to  his  tastes.  Here, 
when  his  rounds  of  labor  were  performed,  he 
found  a  retreat  and  drew  comfort  and  strength 
from  all  that  was  noble  in  nature  and  all  that  was 
sweet  in  home.     He  lived  in  a  rented  property  for 


172  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

about  two  years.  He  then  bought  a  small  tract 
of  land  about  one  mile  from  Churchville  and 
placed  suitable  and  tasteful  improvements  upon 
it.  To  this  place  he  gave  the  name  Floral  Hill. 
It  was  a  pleasant  place  to  reside,  and  much  of  the 
family  history  was  connected  with  this  home. 

The  following  paragraph  written  in  1860,  in 
which  Bishop  Glossbrenner  refers  to  the  charge 
industriously  circulated,  that  he  was  not  clear  of 
the  sin  of  slavery,  gives  a  glimpse  of  his  house- 
liold:  "As  regards  myself,  I  have  to  say  that  I 
never  have  been,  am  not  now,  and,  unless  my 
opinions  should  be  very  much  changed  from  what 
they  are  now  (which  I  think  is  not  likely  to  be 
the  case),  I  never  shall  be  connected  with  slavery. 
I  have  living  with  me  at  this  time  a  colored  girl 
about  twelve  or  fourteen  years  old  who  was  born 
free,  and  a  little  colort'd  gii-1  that  I  am  trying  to 
rear  and  educate  properly,  whose  freedom  is 
secured  to  her  in  writing  when  she  is  twenty-one 
years  old,  and  also  a  little  Irish  boy  who  is  placed 
in  my  care  till  he  is  twenty-one.  These  compose 
all  who  are  under  my  care  with'  the  exception  of 
my  own  children."  The  slave  child  mentioned 
was  one  of  the  children  of  the  slave  woman 
belonging  to  Christian  Shuey,  before  referred  to. 
Christian  Shuey  neither  sold  nor  gave  away  slaves. 
About  1855,  this  child,  when  three  years  old,  was 


LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  173 

taken  into  Bishop  Glossbrenner's  household. 
She  was  owned  neither  by  Mr.  nor  Mrs.  Gloss- 
brenner,  her  freedom  having  previously  been 
stipulated  by  Christian  Shuey,  who  afterward 
provided  by  will  for  the  freedom  of  all  his  slaves, 
when  they  should  reach  certain  years.  The  care 
which  Bishop  Glossbrenner  bestowed  upon  the 
less  fortunate  ones  whom  he  took  to  reside  with 
him,  assisted  them  to  a  position  in  which  the^^ 
were  able  to  provide  well  and  honorably  for 
themselves.  Living  in  a  slave  state,  he  did  not 
fail  to  urge  upon  the  whites,  whether  slave- 
owners or  not,  their  obligation  to  look  after  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  oppressed  race. 

He  early  saw  his  children  converted  and  taking 
their  place  as  members  of  the  Church.  He  sought 
carefully  to  guide  their  spiritual  growth  and 
prudently  and  tenderly  to  guard  their  welfare  in 
every  respect.  While  he  was  affectionate  even  to 
fondness,  he  did  not  injure  or  imperil  by  over- 
indulgence. His  home  was  to  him  a  comfort  and 
an  inspiration,  and  to  others  it  was  a  pattern  of 
what  a  Christian  home  should  be. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

General  Conference  of  1861 — Returned  to  East  District — 
Shut  Up  Within  the  Confederate  Lines — His  Work 
During  the  War — Preaches  to  Southern  Soldiers — His 
Loyalty  to  the  Union — ^Journey  Through  the  Lines 
and  Return — Close  of  the  War — General  Conference  of 
1865  —  His  Course  During  the  War  Approved — "Ob- 
noxious Resolution" — Controversy  with  INIcCue  — 
Welcomed  on  the  East  District — Holds  His  Conferences 
— General  Questioning. 

The  thirteenth  General  Conference  met  at 
Westerville,  Ohio,  May  13,  1861.  At  no  time 
before  had  the  rate  of  increase  equaled  that  of 
the  preceding  four  years,  and  at  no  time  since 
has  the  rate  been  excelled.  The  membership  was 
now  94,453.  The  increase  in  four  years  had  been 
more  than  thirty-three  thousand.  The  accession 
of  such  large  numbers  of  new  members  would 
put  to  severe  test  the  traditional  principles  of  the 
Church — challenge  their  correctness,  if  not  modify 
their  character.  Ninety  delegates,  besides  the 
four  bishops,  were  entitled  to  seats  in  the  General 
Conference.  The  secrecy  question,  in  diiferent 
forms,  received  the  attention  of  the  conference. 
Lay  delegation  and  pro  rata  representation  re- 
ceived   no    considcral)le    encouragement.       The 

174 


LIFE    OP   GLOSSBRENNER.  175 

business  of  the  conference  was  faithfullj  and 
satisfactorily  attended  to. 

Bishops  Glossbrenner  and  Edwards  were  re- 
elected. The  third  bishop  selected  was  Rev.  J. 
Markwood,  whose  name  has  already  often  been 
mentioned.  Rev.  Daniel  Shuck,  of  Indiana  Con- 
ference, was  elected  bishop  of  the  Pacific  district. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  returned  to  the  East 
district.  He  had  taken  no  prominent  part  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  General  Conference.  His 
mind,  as  well  as  to  a  great  extent  the  minds  of 
all,  was  occupied  with  grave  forebodings  as  to 
the  issue  of  national  aftairs.  He  had  not  been 
present  at  the  session  of  the  Board  of  Missions, 
which  met  just  before  the  General  Conference. 
The  Confederacy  had  already  been  inaugurated. 
Sumter  had  been  compelled  to  surrender,  and 
excitement  everywhere  prevailed.  Virginia,  the 
state  in  which  his  home  was  situated,  had  cast 
her  lot  with  the  Confederacy.  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner had  been  a  "Whig  and  a  great  admirer  of 
Henry  Clay.  Of  the  four  candidates  for  the 
presidency  in  the  field  in  1860,  he  had  preferred 
to  cast  his  vote  for  Jolin  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  the 
candidate  of  the  Constitutional  Union  party,  to 
which  party  the  Whigs  in  the  southern  states 
naturally  tended. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  returned   home  after  the 


176  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

adjournment  of  the  General  Conference,  and  im- 
mediately all  communication  with  the  North  was 
cut  off.  When  the  first  word  was  received  from 
him,  about  the  middle  of  August,  he  had  not 
after  his  return  home  received  a  letter  or  paper 
from  the  North.  He  managed  in  August  to  send 
a  letter  by  a  circuitous  route  to  the  North,  asking 
that  some  one  attend  for  him  his  conferences  in 
Ohio.  He  had  not  before  this  in  the  sixteen 
years  of  his  work  as  superintendent,  failed  to 
meet  his  conferences  according  to  appointment. 
In  this  letter  he  said:  "As  to  national  matters, 
I  will  only  say  tliat  I  am  praying  daily  that  God 
may  have  mercy  on  us  and  restore  peace  once 
more  to  our  country."  He  closed  by  saying, 
"  The  preachers  in  Virginia  are  on  their  fields 
doing  all  that  they  can." 

From  this  time  we  follow  him  as  fully  as  we 
are  able  to  trace  him  on  the  Confederate  side  of 
the  lines.  His  home  was  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  the  scene  of  a  large  part  of  the  opera- 
tions of  the  war,  and  was  included  in  Confederate 
territory  till  the  final  collapse  of  the  Confederacy. 
It  is  not  necessary  that  extended  references 
be  made  to  battles  and  campaigns,  or  even 
to  the  condition  of  the  people  south  of  the  line. 
His  life  and  his  life's  errand  were  on  the  side 
of  the  kingdom  of  peace.     The  prejudice  with 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  177 

which  the  United  Brethren  Church,  as  an 
anti-slavery  church,  was  regarded,  was  now 
fanned  into  a  flame  by  the  exciting  events  of  the 
times,  and  moreover  all  ordinary  restraints  were 
removed.  At  the  time  it  was  thought  by  many 
that  Bishop  Glossbrenner's  duty  and  his  safety 
alike  required  that  he  should  seek  to  escape  to 
the  Korth.  But  even  if  it  had  been  possible,  he 
felt  that  it  was  his  duty  to  remain.  His  family, 
his  wife's  relatives,  what  property  he  possessed, 
all  were  in  the  South.  He  felt,  too,  that  his  duty 
to  the  Church  required  him  to  remain,  and  it  has 
been  stated  by  many  persons  in  a  situation  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  facts,  that  his  remaining  in 
Virginia  was  the  means,  more  than  anything 
else,  of  preserving  the  United  Brethren  Church 
in  Virginia  throughout  the  long  and  fearful 
struggle.  He  was  widely  known  throughout  the 
state  of  Virginia,  and  was  admired  as  a  preacher 
and  respected  as  a  man  by  all  classes  of  society. 
His  prudence  and  his  counsels  were  a  guide  to 
the  Church,  and  the  veneration  for  him  was 
largely  its  shield.  Bishop  Markwood,  who  had 
been  assigned  to  the  West  Mississippi  district, 
with  the  understanding  that  he  would  move  to 
his  district,  came  out  of  Virginia  through  the 
lines,  and  through  the  war  made  his  home  in  the 
:N'orth. 


178  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENXER, 

The  preachers  soiitli  of  the  Confederate  lines 
met  reguhirly  for  four  years  in  annual  conference 
sessions,  while  that  portion  of  Virginia  Confer- 
ence, lying  north  of  the  lines,  had  likewise  its 
resrular  sessions.  The  southern  half  met  first  at 
Edenhurg,  February  14,  1862.  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenncr  opened  the  conference  by  reading  the 
first  chapter  of  II.  Timothy  and  by  "  an  affec- 
tionate and  appropriate  address."  Three  of  the 
faithful  preachers  during  this  trying  period  were 
J.  W.  Howe,  C.  B.  Ilamniack,  and  G.  Kymal.  At 
this  session  the  itinerant  force  w^as  strengthened 
by  the  reception  into  the  conference  of  J.  W. 
Hott,  J.  K.  I^elson,  C.  T.  Stearn,  A.  M.  Evers, 
J.  M.  Cantor,  and  II.  A.  Bovey.  T.  Brashear 
was  elected  presiding  elder.  At  one  time  during 
the  ensuing  year  the  Federal  forces  under  General 
Banks  swept  up  the  valley  and  rescued  a  large 
territory  from  the  Confederates.  Encouraged  by 
this,  llev.  Brashear,  the  presiding  elder,  ventured 
publicly  to  pray  for  the  success  of  the  Union 
arms.  On  the  return  of  the  Confederates  he  was 
compelled  to  flee  for  his  life.  He  passed  through 
the  lines,  advising  other  United  Brethren  preach- 
ers to  follow,  as  it  was  unsafe  to  remain. 

In  1863  the  conference  met  at  Keezletown.  At 
this  session  J.  W.  Kiracofe  was  received  as  a 
member.      "  In  view  of  the   distressed  condition 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  179 

of  the  country,  the  wickedness  of  the  unconverted, 
and  the  lukewarmness  of  professed  Christians," 
the  conference  resolved  that  they,  by  the  help  of 
God,  would  use  their  "  greatest  eftbrts  to  dis- 
seminate the  principles  of  reformation,  morality, 
and  religion,  and  know  nothing  among  the  people 
but  Christ  and  him  crucified."  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  was  asked  to  serve  as  presiding  elder. 

In  1864  the  conference  met  at  Freeden's  Church 
in  Rockiugham  County,  and  in  1865  at  Mt.  Zion 
Church  in  Augusta  County.  At  each  of  these 
conferences  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  asked  to 
serve  as  presiding  elder.  In  1865  his  salary 
was  made  "  seven  hundred  dollars,  Confederate 
paper." 

During  the  war  he  was  cheerful,  courageous, 
and  as  fully  occupied  in  preaching  as  at  any 
time  since  he  was  elected  bishop.  He  preached 
frequently  and  at  times  somewhat  regularly  for 
other  denominations.  But  one  church  building- 
was  erected  by  the  United  Brethren  south  of  the 
lines  during  the  war,  and  for  that  he  crossed  the 
lines  into  West  Virginia  in  order  to  obtain  the 
glass.  He  preached  frequently  to  audiences  of 
Confederate  soldiers.  Once  he  preached  at  the 
request  of  Stonewall  Jackson.  At  another  time, 
just  after  the  battle  of  Manassus,  he  preached  from 
a  stump  to  a  large  audience  of  southern  soldiers, 


180  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

preaching  a  sermon  that  was  very  impressive  and 
often  spoken  of.  At  one  time  a  southern  soldier, 
after  hearing  him  preach,  remarked  that  he  had 
often  thought  that  he  would  like  to  hear  Paul 
preach,  but  that  now  he  was  satisfied,  for  he  had 
heard  a  preacher  that  came  up  to  his  idea  of  Paul. 

Bishop  Glossbrenuer  on  one  occasion  made  a 
special  visit,  taking  a  number  of  others  with  him, 
to  see  General  Jackson.  In  conversation  with 
the  general,  he  remarked:  "I  cannot  wish  you 
success,  but  my  daughters  who  are  with  me  can." 
Jackson,  who  was  as  famous  for  his  prayers  as 
for  his  battles,  was  not  offended  at  this  frankness. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner's  daughters — three  of  them 
were  living  at  home  at  this  time — inclined  in 
their  sympathies,  witli  most  who  were  about 
them,  to  the  southern  cause.  It  was  with  plea- 
surable devotion  that  they  met  with  others  to 
scrape  lint  to  be  applied  to  the  wounds  of  those 
wounded  in  battle. 

It  was  generally  well  understood  that  Bishop 
Glossbrenuer  did  not  sympathize  with  the 
southern  cause.  The  wife  of  a  southern  officer 
had  her  home  with  the  Bishop's  family.  This 
officer  frequently,  for  longer  or  shorter  periods, 
was  at  the  Bishop's  house.  Some  of  the  Confed- 
erate officers  were  anxious  for  something  more 
explicit  with  reference  to  the  Bishop's  sentiments. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  181 

They  therefore  asked  the  officer  whether  he  had 
heard  him  express  any  decided  sentiments.  The 
officer  replied  that  he  had  not.  They  then  said, 
"  Does  he  pray  in  his  family?"  The  answer  was, 
"  He  never  fails  to  pray."  It  was  then  asked, 
"On  which  side  does  he  pray?"  The  officer 
replied,  "  K  everybody  prayed  like  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner,  there  would  never  be  any  war."  The 
officer  could  doubtless  have  discovered  more  of 
information  to  his  superiors,  had  not  his  friend- 
ship for  the  Bishop  inclined  him  to  reticence. 

At  the  close  of  1863,  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
applied  to  the  Confederate  authorities  for  a  pass 
with  a  view  to  attending  Pennsylvania  Confer- 
ence, as  also  the  northern  half  of  Virginia  Con- 
ference. This  pass  was  obtained  from  President 
Davis,  and  his  adjutant  general,  Cooper,  through 
the  influence  of  Colonel  Baldwin,  a  representa- 
tive in  the  Confederate  congress.  He  took  with 
him  his  daughter  Josie,  then  eighteen  years  of 
age,  and  journeyed  north  in  a  carriage.  It  was 
his  desire  to  enter  the  Union  lines  at  Martins- 
burg,  and  to  cross  the  Potomac  from  that  point. 
The  first  Union  picket  that  he  met  was  a  young- 
Mr.  Bonewell,  son  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Bonewell,  of 
the  United  Brethren  Church.  This  young  man 
recognized  him,  having  seen  him  at  his  father's 
house  at   Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania.     He  was 


182  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

obliged  to  detain  him  until  he  obtained  permis- 
sion to  admit  liim.  Once  within  the  lines,  the 
authorities  at  Washington  were  applied  to  by 
telegrapk  to  grant  permission  for  liim  to  cross 
the  Potomac  into  Marvlund.  But  the  regula- 
tions were  so  strict  with  reference  to  crossing  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Martinsburg,  that  the  desired 
permission  could  not  be  obtained. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  then  returned  to  near 
Winchester  to  the  home  of  Rev.  Jacob  Ilott. 
Rev.  Jacob  Ilott  had  accompanied  him  to  Mar- 
tinsburg. At  this  time  his  son,  Rev.  J.  W.  Ilott, 
returned  from  his  circuit.  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
had  not  seen  him  for  a  considerable  time,  as  after 
he  joined  the  conference  in  1862  his  field  had 
been  for  the  most  part  north  of  the  confederate 
lines.  When  the  Bishop  met  him  he  kissed  him. 
Rev.  J.  W.  Ilott  told  him  that  he  was  satisfied 
that  he  could  j^ass  through  ^Morgan  County  and 
cross  the  Potomac  at  anotlier  point  where  the 
authorities  were  not  so  strict.  He  loaned  him 
some  money  and  accompanied  him.  TheBishop 
preached  several  times  on  week  nights  on  the 
way.  They  came  to  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Daw- 
son, an  honored  member  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  and  a  well-known  and  widely  influential 
man.  Largely  through  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Dawson,  the  Bishop  was  permitted   to  cross  at 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  183 

Alpine,  landing  at  Hancock  on  the  Maryland 
side.  He  first  went  to  Ilagerstown.  After  a 
short  halt,  he  went  by  railroad  to  Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania,  having  received  a  special  invitation 
from  friends.  He  was  dressed  in  a  well  worn 
suit  of  gray,  such  as  was  almost  universally  worn 
in  the  South.  He  looked  haggard  and  much 
older  than  he  did  two  years  before. 

Bishop  Markwood  was  summoned  by  telegraph 
to  meet  Bishop  Glossbrenner  at  Chambersburg. 
When  he  came  and  met  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
in  Brother  J.  Hoke's  parlor,  he  fell  on  his  neck, 
and  great  sobs  told  the  depth  of  his  feelings. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner,  too,  was  deeply  moved. 
Kcither  of  them  spoke  for  a  few  minutes.  They 
then  sat  down  and  told  each  other  of  their  expe- 
riences since  they  had  last  seen  each  other.  When 
it  was  announced  that  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
would  preach,  the  house  was  thronged  with  peo- 
ple who  expected  him  to  say  something  about 
conditions  in  the  South.  But  he  did  not  speak 
of  these  things.  Afterward  Bishop  Markwood 
addressed  a  meeting  called  with  a  view  to  obtain- 
ing funds  for  a  refugee  United  Brethren  preacher 
fi'om  Virginia,  whose  house  had  been  sacked  by 
the  Confederates.  With  all  the  power  of  invective 
he  denounced  southern  rebels  and  their  northern 
sympathizers.      The    intense    Union    feeling    at 


184  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Chambersburg  was  naturally  displeased  with  the 
reticence  of  Bishop  Glossbrenner.  Letters  also 
came  from  friends  in  various  parts  of  the  Church, 
in  which,  if  his  loyalty  to  the  Union  was  not 
called  in  question,  it  was  at  least  pressed  upon 
him  to  make  decisive  statements  as  to  his  senti- 
ments and  conduct,  something  which  he  could 
not  do,  as  he  expected  to  repass  the  lines  and 
continue  to  reside  as  before. 

In  order  to  return,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  have  a  pass  from  the  Federal  authorities. 
Brother  Hoke,  accompanied  by  Col.  A.  K.  Mc- 
Clure,  the  present  editor  of  the  Philadelphia  TimeSy 
went  with  him  to  see  Major  General  Couch, 
commander  of  the  military  district  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna. The  General  received  him  kindly, 
asked  questions  in  regard  to  southern  officers 
with  whom  he  had  been  acquainted  before  the 
war,  and  then  asked  in  regard  to  the  condition 
of  the  southern  army.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  said 
that  he  knew  nothing  that  would  be  advantageous 
to  the  Union  cause,  and  if  he  did,  he  would  feel 
himself  under  obligation  to  communicate  nothing 
in  view  of  his  being  away  on  a  pass.  The  Gen- 
eral responded,  "  That  is  all  Ave  ask  of  you  when 
you  return — to  keep  silence  as  to  what  would  be 
of  aid  to  our  enemies."  He  added  that  of  course 
he  had  no  objection  to  his  telling  what  he  saw. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBllENNER.  185 

namely,  that  the  whole  country  was  a  training 
camp,  and  swarming  with  preparation  for  the 
spring  campaign.  Tlie  Bishop  answered  that  he 
was  fully  aware  of  the  obligations  under  which 
he  would  be  placed  by  receiving  a  pass,  and 
would  consider  himself  bound  as  stated.  General 
Couch  gave  him  a  pass  wliich  was  good  as  far 
as  his  authority  extended.  On  another  occasion 
when  General  Couch  was  present  he  asked  the 
Bishop's  daughter  to  sing  "  Bonny  Blue  Flag"  and 
''Dixie."  lie  wanted  to  hear  a  southern  girl  sing 
them.  The  Bishop's  stay  at  Chambersburg  was 
in  the  early  part  of  February,  1864.  He  did  not 
reach  the  North  in  time  for  Pennsylvania  Confer- 
ence. His  friends  at  Chambersburg  made  him  a 
present  of  a  suit  of  clothes.  It  was  not  just  to 
their  notion  to  see  their  bishop  attired  in  gray. 
Besides,  his  suit  was  much  the  worse  for  wear. 

On  his  way  home  he  presided  over  the  northern 
half  of  Virginia  Conference  at  Boonsboro,  Mary- 
land. Here  J.  K.  Nelson,  J.  W.  Hott,  and 
J.  Harp  were  ordained.  This  part  of  the  con- 
ference had  been  quite  successful  in  its  work, 
notwithstanding  the  interruptions  of  the  war. 
Bishop  Markwood  was  also  present.  After  some 
of  his  fiery  remarks  with  reference  to  the  rebels. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  turned  to  some  one  who  was 
present   and    simply   said,  "Jakie  is  very  much 


186  LIFE    UF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

excited."  It  is  due  to  say  that  while  their  tem- 
peraments were  just  the  reverse  of  each  other, 
the  relations  between  Bishop  Glossbrenner  and 
Bishop  Markwood  were  never  strained,  and  that 
they  remained  one  in  sympathy,  in  labors,  and 
patient  endurance  of  hardness. 

Before  returning,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  pur- 
chased a  wedding  outfit  for  his  daughter  Cornelia. 
On  his  return  he  crossed  the  Potomac  as  he 
came,  preached  a  number  of  times  in  Virginia  on 
the  Union  side  of  the  lines,  and  proceeded  toward 
his  home.  Ilis  return  course  was  much  more 
difficult  than  his  passage  down  the  valley,  lie 
was  compelled  to  Journey  a  part  of  the  wa}*  by 
night,  walking  in  front  and  holding  a  handker- 
chief at  his  back  so  that  his  daughter  could  see  to 
drive.  Going  down  the  valley  he  had  secreted 
his  horse  one  night  in  a  smoke-house. 

On  this  trip  he  drove  a  horse  by  the  name  of 
Jackson.  On  the  Maryland  side  of  the  Potomac, 
in  speaking  to  his  horse  he  called  him  Jackie. 
This  was  afterward  told  at  his  expense,  as  though 
he  felt  aware  that  the  name  Jackson  was  not  so 
popular  in  Federal  territory.  The  horse  was  well 
under  the  Bishop's  control  as  indicated  by  an 
incident.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  were  once 
riding  behind  him  when  he  became  frightened 
and  started   to  run  away.     In  the  eftbrt  to  hold 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  187 

him  the  lines  hroke.  The  Bishop  calling  him  by 
name  said,  "  Now  Jackson,  you  won't  run  oft'  with 
us,"  and  thus  continued  to  talk  to  him  till  he 
quieted  down  and  stopped. 

The  burning  of  Chambersburg  occurred  a  few 
months  after  the  Bishop's  return.  The  Confed- 
eracy lingered  for  a  year,  drawing  its  support  from 
the  very  wretchedness  of  the  people,  and  inflict- 
ing upon  them  every  hardship  by  the  endeavor  to 
maintain  the  hopeless  struggle.  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  was  subjected  to  no  losses  save  what  fell 
to  him  in  common  with  the  people  about  him, 
through  the  impoverished  condition  of  the  coun- 
try. At  the  wedding  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Kiracofe,  at 
which  good  coffee  was  served,  the  Bishop  re- 
marked, "  This  tastes  like  the  United  States." 

He  continued  to  preach  and  serve  the  Churcli 
in  Virginia,  notwithstanding  the  dangers  and 
embarrassments,  Avhich  increased  as  the  war  ap- 
proached its  close.  He  sometimes  preached 
while  the  roar  of  cannon  was  plainly  heard.  One 
of  his  subjects  for  these  troublous  times  was 
"The  Peaceable  Kingdom  of  our  Lord."  The 
most  extreme  calamity  of  the  people  of  the  Shen- 
andoah Valley,  was  the  ravaging  of  the  valley  by 
Sheridan  to  cut  oft'  supplies  for  Richmond.  But 
what  seemed  to  be  a  calamity  proved  a  blessing, 
as  it  hastened  the  inevitable,  and  at  the   same 


188  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNEK. 

time  lessened  the  cost  iu  human  life.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  preached  at  Evers'  school-house  on 
the  very  day  wlien  Eiehmond  fell;  preaching 
with  wonderful  power  on  the  text,  "lie  that 
believeth  not  is  condemned  already."  After  the 
sermon  a  lady  of  unusual  intelligence  remarked, 
"That  man  knows  what  is  in  the  hearts  of  all 
men."  At  this  meeting  a  collection  was  taken 
amounting  to  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  dollars 
Confederate  currency.  While  the  United  "Breth- 
ren preachers  were  compelled  to  handle  Confed- 
erate money,  they  lost  fully  as  little  by  so  doing 
as  any  other  class  of  persons.  They  did  not  give 
it  time  to  depreciate  in  their  hands. 

Richmond  fell  on  the  night  of  April  2,  1865, 
but  a  remnant  of  the  Confederacy  still  remained. 
It  was  now  time  for  the  next  session  of  the 
General  Conference.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  had 
been  in  doubt  as  to  whether  he  would  be  able  to 
attend,  but  he  was  urged  by  his  friends  on  the 
Union  side  of  the  lines  to  make  the  effort. 
"Without  much  difficulty  he  passed  down  the 
valley  and  crossed  the  Potomac  and  came  to 
Clear  Springs,  Maryland.  He  proceeded  to  Lis- 
bon, Iowa,  where  he  met  with  the  Board  of 
Missions,  May  9,  1865.  To  a  great  extent  he  was 
a  stranger.  He  had  not  met  with  the  Board  of 
Missions    since    1860.      Things   throughout    the 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  189 

country  had  progressed  beyond  measure  since  the 
beginning  of  the  war.  Of  the  four  political 
parties  in  1860,  none  expected  or  demanded  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  states  where  it  already 
existed.  Slavery  was  now  of  the  past.  The 
United  Brethren  of  the  Korth  had  been  loyal  to 
a  fault  in  support  of  the  Union  cause.  It  was 
resolved  by  the  Board  of  Missions,  "  in  view  of 
the  antecedent  history  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  that  it  was  peculiarly  fit  and  incumbent 
upon  it",  to  occupy  the  Southern  field.  But,  alas, 
the  reward  of  moral  pioneering  and  past  fidelity 
was  not  to  be  so  easily  reached.  If  God  always 
rewarded  at  once,  and  in  kind  akin  to  losses 
sustained,  all  service  would  be  for  a  consideration. 
Prejudice  on  the  one  side  and  lack  of  adaptation 
on  the  other  have  made  the  South  to  a  large 
extent  a  closed  field  to  the  United  Brethren 
Church. 

General  Conference  met  at  "Western,  Iowa, 
May  11,  1865.  The  bishops'  address  indicated 
fair  advances,  especially  along  certain  lines.  In 
the  number  of  members  there  was  a  reported  loss 
of  4,642.  This  was  accounted  for  by  the  inevitable 
losses  of  the  war,  the  voluntary  withdrawal  of 
some  "  from  sympathy  with  treason,"  and  the 
dismissal  of  others  "  for  the  same  cause." 

Bishop  Glossbrenner,  ascertaining  that  reports 


190  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

were  in  circulation  assailing  his  loyalty  during 
the  war,  asked  the  privilege  of  making  a  state- 
ment to  the  conference.  lie  spoke  in  substance 
as  follows : 

Four  years  ago  when  we  last  met  in  quadrennial 
session,  the  circumstances  under  which  we  assembled 
were  vastly  different  from  those  under  which  we  are 
assembled  now\  Then  we  were  just  on  the  eve  of  the 
terrible  war  which  has  since  swept  with  its  destroj'ing 
force  over  the  land.  Now  the  conference,  the  countrj-, 
and  indeed  the  whole  world  rejoice  in  the  victories  of  the 
Union  and  the  prospect  of  immediate  peace.  ^ly  share 
in  this  rejoicing  was  equall}'  great,  until  after  coming  to 
this  conference,  I  learned  that  my  loyalty  to  the  countrj- 
and  faithfulness  to  the  Church  were  suspected.  Since 
then  my  peace  has  been  disturbed. 

I  feel  it  to  be  due  to  the  conference  and  to  the  Church 
that  I  make  a  statement  of  the  course  I  have  pursued 
during  the  war.  From  the  last  General  Conference  I 
went,  bound  in  spirit,  to  my  home  in  Virginia,  not 
knowing  what  would  befall  me  there.  I  found  the 
people  in  a  state  of  great  excitement.  The  hearts  of 
many  of  our  people  were  sinking  within  them.  The}- 
asked  what  shall  we  do  ?  I  answered,  "Stand  still,  and 
all  will  be  well."  A  small  proportion  thought  it  would 
be  best  to  establish  a  southern  F^nited  Brethren  Church. 
I  rejoice  that  such  a  church  was  never  set  up  b}-  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ. 

The  question  has  been  asked  why  I  did  not  leave 
Virginia  and  go  to  the  North.  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to 
remain  with  the  Church  and  to  link  my  fortunes  with 
theirs.     There  were  hours  of  gloom,  of  darkness,  of  deep, 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  191 

deep  distress.  But  we  could  go  to  God  for  help.  I  felt 
it  to  be  my  duty  to  stay  and  strengthen  the  weak,  com- 
fort the  afflicted,  and,  if  possible,  keep  the  flock  together. 
If  I  had  left,  others  would  have  left.  If  the  ministers  had 
all  left,  the  Church  would  have  been  scattered  and  per- 
haps destroyed.  The  report  has  gone  forth  that  I  and 
my  fellow-laborers  were  obliged  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Southern  Confederacy.  Such  was  not 
the  fact.  If  such  a  proposition  had  been  submitted,  it 
would  have  been  indignantly  spurned.  But  we  were  free 
from  conscription,  and  as  long  as  we  were  allowed  peace- 
fully to  preach  the  gospel,  we  regarded  it  as  our  duty  to 
remain  with  the  flock  and  fulfill  the  duty  of  faithful 
shepherds.  Doing  this,  the  Church  has  been  kept 
together. 

Happily  I  have  not  had  to  wait  till  to-day  to  declare 
my  sentiments  respecting  the  Church  and  the  Govern- 
m^ent.  I  gave  my  testimony  in  the  days  of  darkness  and 
distress.  The  conference  have  known  me  for  a  long 
time.  Can  they  believe  my  word  ?  I  would  be  glad  to 
have  an  expression.  If  any  one  is  not  fully  satisfied 
with  me  and  my  record,  I  hope  he  will  say  so.  I  cannot 
assist  in  presiding  over  this  conference  if  I  should  think 
the  members  of  the  same  suspect  me  of  disloyalty  to 
the  Church  or  to  the  Government. 

This  address  carried  at  once  the  sympathies  of 
the  conference  overwhelmingly  to  the  side  of 
Bishop  Glossbrenner.  A  resolution  of  approval 
and  confidence,  moved  by  Bishop  Markwood, 
was  carried.  Two  members,  however,  dissented, 
x^ear  the  close  of  the  war  Bishop  Glossbrenner, 
whose   course   lay   past   where   the    Confederate 


192  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBREXNER. 

army  was  encamped,  liad,  according  to  request, 
taken  with  him  to  the  camp  the  horse  belonging 
to  Captain  Hanger,  wlio,  in  the  spring  of  1864, 
was  married  to  liis  daughter.  Those  dissatisfied 
might  have  added  that  the  Bishop  had  bought 
the  wedding  dress  for  his  daughter,  and  in  this 
way  also  had  given  aid  and  comfort  to  the 
enemies  of  the  Government.  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner  readily  admitted  that  he  was  compelled  to  do 
and  endure  many  things  contrary  to  his  choice. 
His  actions  should  be  considered  rather  in  the 
light  of  the  conduct  of  the  thousands  of  Union 
people  in  the  South  than  according  to  the  ideas 
of  the  zealous  loyalists  of  the  North.  Henry 
Kumler,  jr.,  at  the  time  one  of  the  bishops,  was 
one  of  these  most  opposed  to  the  course  of 
Bishop  Glossbrenner,  and  most  emphatically  did 
he  indicate  his  displeasure.  But,  though  harsh 
and  even  belligerent  while  occasions  lasted,  he 
was  thoroughly  honest,  and  when  his  spirit  was 
soothed  by  time,  could  make  due  allowance  for 
the  situation  and  temperament  of  another. 
Speaking  of  the  session  of  the  Allegheny  Con- 
ference, which  occurred  a  few  months  later,  he 
made  the  following  entry :  "  At  this  conference 
I  became  reconciled  to  Bishop  Glossbrenner.  I 
have  learned  that  caution,  or  rather  conservatism 
is  his  infirmity,  and  that  my  own  infirmities  arc 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  19S 

much  greater  than  his,  no  doubt."  The  sermon 
which  Bishop  Glossbrenner  preached  on  the  first 
Sabbath  of  the  session,  was  remarkable  for  ita 
tenderness  and  force,  and  drew  to  him  in  special 
nearness,  the  hearts  of  the  members  of  the  General 
Conference. 

While  the  conference  was  in  session,  news  was 
brought  that  Jefferson  Davis  liad  been  captured. 
Calls  were  made  for  a  speech  from  Markwood, 
who  at  the  time  was  presiding.  lie  declined, 
saying  that  the  business  of  the  conference  must 
go  on  without  interruption.  The  cries  being 
persisted  in,  Bishop  Markwood  said:  "The  con- 
ference ought  not  to  waste  time  in  rejoicing  over 
the  capture  of  that  infamous,  villainous,  black- 
hearted rebel."  It  was  proposed  that  tlie  doxol- 
ogy  be  sung.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  remarked  that 
if  the  doxology  were  sung,  "  it  should  be  sung 
with  feelings  of  reverence  and  true  thankfulness." 
Tlie  doxology  was  sung. 

An  event  in  the  session  was  the  introduction 
of  the  following  resolution,  on  which  the  yeas 
and  nays  were  called:  "  Besolved,  That  we  are  in 
favor  of  placing  every  inhabitant,  black  and 
white,  on  an  equality  before  the  law,  and  hereby 
pledge  our  influence  and  efforts  to  secure  the 
complete  enfranchisement  of  the  negro  with  all 
the  rights  of  an  American  citizen."     All  voted  in 

13 


194  '    LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

favor  of  the  resolution  except  the  delegates  from. 
Virginia  and  Parkersburg  conferences.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  voted  for  the  resolution.  While  it 
expressed  his  sentiments,  he  did  not  regard  its 
introduction  as  required,  or  the  manner  in  which 
it  was  urged  as  properly  considerate  of  Avhat  was 
involved.  The  resolution,  known  as  the  obnox- 
ious resolution,  raised  a  worse  storm  in  Virginia 
than  any  through  which  the  Church  had  yet 
passed. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  re-elected  bishop  and 
assigned  to  the  East  district.  Bishops  Edwards, 
Markwood  and  Shuck  were  also  re-elected.  The 
new  bishop  elected  at  this  conference  was  Rev.  J. 
"Weaver,  of  Muskingum  Conference,  the  present 
well-known  and  honored  senior  bishop  of  the 
Church.  The  salary  of  bishops  was  made  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

The  storm  of  prejudice  which  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner met  on  his  return  to  Virginia  was  excited 
by  Major  McCue  through  some  articles  published 
in  the  Staunton  Spectator.  Fifteen  years  before, 
this  same  man  as  a  magistrate  had  caused  copies 
of  the  Beligious  Telescope  to  be  burned  in  the 
public  square  by  a  village  postmaster.  In  the 
first  article,  alluding  to  Bishop  Glossbrenner  and 
the  United  Brethren  Church,  he  said:  "The 
prominent    man    of    this   denomination    has   for 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNEft^  195 

years  been  a  citizen  of  Aiignsta.  He  married  in 
a  Ijighly  respectable  connection  and  has  reared 
a  most  interesting  family,  and  commanded  the 
respect  of  all  avIio  knew  him  up  to  the  session  of 
the  General  Conference.  .  .  .  He  was  often 
invited  to  fill  the  pulpits  of  Presbyterians,  Meth- 
odists, and  Lutherans.  .  .  .  "Whilst  most 
persons  thought  his  sympathies  were  with  the 
North  in  our  late  conflict,  yet  they  gave  him 
credit  for  the  quiet  and  prudent  course  that  he 
pursued."  In  his  articles  he  assailed  the  Church 
and  appealed  to  prejudice,  saying  that  the  reso- 
lution of  the  General  Conference  meant  social 
equality,  if  not  intermarriages  between  the  races. 
In  reply  Bishop  Glossbrenner  said,  "If  I  must 
lose  the  esteem  and  respect  of  other  denomina- 
tions because  I  have  said  a  word  in  favor  of  the 
freedmen,  so  be  it.  I  will  still  enforce  the  duty 
of  doing  justly  to  all  men  of  every  race  and 
color."  In  another  reply  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
wrote  as  follows:  "It  is  still  a  subject  of  com- 
plaint that  as  ministers  we  failed  to  pray  for  the 
success  of  the  Confederacy.  To  pra}'  is  a  solemn 
act  of  worship,  and  I  feel  that  I  am  responsible 
to  God  alone  for  the  manner  in  which  tliis  duty  is 
performed.  "With  the  light  I  had  I  could  not  sec 
that  it  would  be  for  the  glory  of  God,  for  the 
good   of  his  church,  or   for   the    happiness   and 


IDG  LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

prosperity  of  tlie  people  that  the  Confederacy 
should  be  established.  Yet  I  felt  that  I  was 
ignorant  and  short-sighted,  and  consequently 
that  it  was  best  to  pray  that  God  would  defend 
the  right  and  overrule  all  of  our  national  troubles 
for  his  glory  and  the  good  of  all  men,  in  all  con- 
ditions of  society;  and  that  he  would  make  the 
wrath  of  men  to  praise  him  and  the  remainder 
of  that  wrath  restrain."  This  paragraph,  better 
than  anything  else,  shows  Bishop  Glossbrenner's 
feelings  and  course  in  relation  to  the  great  civil 
war.  In  this,  the  only  controvers}^  through  the 
press  occurring  in  the  long  period  of  his  public 
life,  he  showed  himself  no  unskillful  controver- 
sialist. He  sharpl}'  referred  to  a  four-column 
article  of  his  opponent  as  presenting  nothing 
formidable  except  the  length;  and  in  justifying 
his  course  in  reference  to  the  freedmen,  brought 
forward  the  opinions  of  a  number  of  southern 
statesmen. 

At  the  close  of  the  war.  Bishop  Glossbreny^er 
stood  in  the  prime  of  his  matured  powers.  He 
was  still  on  the  youth  side  of  forty-five.  As  a 
bishop  one  half  of  his  career  was  yet  before  him. 
The  disadvantages  that  weighed  upon  the  Church 
were  largely  removed.  New  duties  and  new 
difficulties  were  to  be  met.  The  Church,  in  view, 
action,  and   life,  was  more  nearly  one  with   the 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  197 

nation  and  the  churclies  of  the  land  than  ever 
before. 

The  spirit  of  Bishop  Glossbirenner  and  his  kind 
reception  by  the  people  appear  in  the  following 
paragraph  from  his  pen :  "  "Wherever  I  have 
visited  thus  far  I  have  found  a  hearty  welcome 
and  have  been  treated  in  the  kindest  manner  by 
my  brethren,  both  in  the  ministry  and  laity,  I 
often  think  that  no  one  has  greater  reason  to 
thank  the  Lord  for  good,  firm,  and  tried  friends 
than  I  have.  They  have  stood  by  me  in  sunshine 
and  in  storm.  God  bless  them,  and  may  they 
always  realize  that  in  God  they  have  a  sympa- 
thizing and  unchanging  friend.  And  may  God 
give  me  grace  and  wisdom  that  I  may  so  live  that 
none  will  ever  be  ashamed  to  say,  '  I  am  Gloss- 
brenner's  friend,' " 

His  susceptibility  to  friendship  and  gratitude  is 
further  indicated  in  the  following  language  used 
by  him  after  describing  a  visit  to  Baltimore: 
"  The  second  Sabbath  after  leaving  home  was 
spent  in  Hagerstown,  the  place  of  my  nativity. 
In  this  town  I  embraced  salvation  by  faith  in 
Christ.  Here  too  I  united  with  the  Church  of 
the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  and  here  I  com- 
menced my  labors  as  an  itinerant  minister  of  the 
gospel.  In  this  place  reside  some  of  the  tried 
friends   of    my   youthful   days   in    tlie   ministry, 


198  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

whose  kind  deeds  and  Christian  counsels  will 
ever  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance.  It  was 
gratifying  to  me  to  spend  three  or  four  days  here, 
visiting  and  conversing  with  old  acquaintances 
and  preaching  to  the  people  the  word  of  life. 

In  the  fall  of  1865  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  after  a 
tour  to  Parkersburg  Conference,  presided  over 
Erie  and  "Western  Reserve  conferences.  His 
time  between  his  conference  sessions  was  now 
largely  occupied  with  dedicating  churches,  and 
preaching  here  and  there  throughout  his  district. 
In  the  spring  of  1866  he  met  his  conferences  in 
Pennsylvania,  with  the  exception  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania, which  was  presided  over  by  ex-Bishop 
liussel. 

At  the  session  of  East  Pennsylvania  Confer- 
ence the  venerable  ex-Bishop  Pussel  was  also 
present,  and  was  requested  by  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner to  close  an  afternoon  session  with 
remarks  and  jirayer.  He  rose,  and  slowly  and 
solemnly  spoke  as  follows — "Dear  brethren:  I 
say  dear  brethren  in  sincerity  and  truth;  not 
because  it  is  customarj',  but  because  I  feel  that 
you  are  indeed  dear  to  me.  I  have  more  hope 
now  for  the  success  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  than  I  have  had  for  many  years.  It 
shall  live.  Viewing  the  ditferent  denominations, 
I   think   we    are   nearest    the    apostles.     I  have 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  199 

enjoyed  this  session  of  conferenco  greatly,  and 
likely  it  will  be  the  last  I  shall  be  able  to  attend. 
In  all  probability,  I  shall  soon  be  on  earth  no 
more.  In  Christ  is  my  sole  trust  for  time  and  for 
eternity."  One  who  was  present  further  describes 
that  when,  from  feebleness  and  depth  of  emotion, 
the  venerable  father  broke  down  and  was  unable 
to  lead  in  prayer,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  kneeling 
by  his  side,  with  a  full  heart  led  the  devotions  in 
his  stead,  and  prayed  with  a  tenderness  and 
power  unusually  impressive.  The  sobbing  of  the 
people  all  over  the  large  congregation  could  be 
beard,  and  to  all  present  it  was  a  most  affecting 
time. 

Virginia  Conference  met  at  Rohrersville,  Mary- 
land, February  8,  1866.  The  two  parts  which 
had  been  separated  by  the  war,  were  now  happy 
in  being  able  to  assemble  together.  The  Church 
in  Virginia  had  been  much  reduced  and  weak- 
ened. Bishop  Markwood  made  the  remark, 
^'  There  is  no  United  Brethren  Church  in  Vir- 
ginia." Bishop  Markwood  was  present  at  the 
conference,  utterly  broken  down,  having  been 
compelled  to  relinquish  the  work  on  his  district. 
But  the  Church  in  Virginia  was  by  no  means  all 
gone,  and  soon  the  reviving  and  gathering 
together  became  everywhere  noticeable.  The 
other  conferences  held  by  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
were  the  Parkersburg  and  Canada. 


200  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

The  rule  against  instrumental  music  in  church 
services,  had  been  violated  by  some  of  the  con- 
gregations in  the  Church,  especially  the  college 
congregation  at  Westerville,  Ohio.  Some  of  the 
conferences  passed  resolutions  condemning  the 
innovations.  The  bishops.  Bishop  Weaver  not 
concurring,  issued  an  address,  asking  that  the 
rules  of  the  Church  be  respected,  that  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  the  Church  might  not  be  dis- 
turbed. Though  Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  no 
special  objection  to  the  use  of  instrumental  music 
in  worship,  yet  he  wished  to  have  all  of  the  laws 
of  the  Church  obeyed. 

The  second  and  third  years  of  the  quadrennium 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  attended  all  of  his  confer- 
ences. November  22,  1866,  he  organized  the 
Tennessee  Mission  Conference  with  five  members 
in  attendance.  He  greatly  enjoyed  meeting  Rev. 
J.  lienbush,  the  tried  missionary.  He  has  always 
taken  a  special  interest  in  tlie  work  in  Tennessee, 
partly,  no  doubt,  because  it  is  southern  work. 

The  conferences  of  the  East  district  took  action 
in  1867  on  the  question  of  securing  a  parsonage 
for  tlie  bishop  of  the  district.  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner used  his  influence  to  promote  the 
enterprise.  The  result  was  the  erection  of  an 
excellent  bishop's  parsonage  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  into  which  Bishop    Glossbrenner  and 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  201 

his  family  moved  in  1868.  This  made  him  more 
accessible  and  more  convenient  to  the  district. 
In  1867  Lebanon  Valley  College  was  founded, 
and  of  this  institution  he  was  an  earnest  friend 
and  patron. 

In  the  fall  of  1868  he  expected  to  attend  the 
conferences  of  the  West  Mississippi  district  in 
the  place  of  Bishop  Mark  wood,  who  Avas  not 
expected  to  be  able  to  meet  his  conferences.  But 
the  latter  surprised  his  friends  by  making  a 
beginning  on  the  district,  though  he  was  after- 
ward compelled  to  relinquish  the  undertaking. 

The  last  year  of  the  quadrennium  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  attended  all  of  his  conferences,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Tennessee  which  was  presided 
over  by  Rev.  D.  K.  Flickinger.  Erie,  Western 
Reserve,  Pennsylvania,  East  Pennsylvania,  Alle- 
gheny, Virginia,  and  Canada  all  passed  resolutions 
highly  complimentary  to  Bishop  Glossbrenner, 
and  requesting  his  return  to  the  East  district. 
Already  for  sixteen  years  he  had  been  regularly 
in  charge  of  this  district. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  quadrennium  there 
was  scarcely  a  subject  connected  with  the  polity 
or  work  ot  the  Church  that  was  not  under  dis- 
cussion. Lay  representation  had  the  lead.  Then 
followed  2)ro  rata  representation  and  modification 
of  the  secrecy  rule.     The  presiding  elder's  office 


202  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBREXNER. 

and  the  bishop's  office  came  in  for  their  sliare  of 
investigation.  The  state  of  the  African  mission 
occasioned  serious  perplexity.  New  questions 
were  introducing  themselves  to  attention  and 
refused  to  be  turned  away  without  a  reasonable 
answer.  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  as  a  man  who 
believed  that  the  future  might  have  something 
wiser  and  better  to  reveal,  at  any  rate  something 
that  new  conditions  and  exigencies  might  require, 
could  not  but  share,  to  a  certain  extent,  this  spirit 
of  unrest  and  anxious  questioning. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

General  Conference  of  1869 — Lay  Delegation — Secrecy — 
Union  Biblical  Seminary  —  African  Mission  —  Ohio 
District — Closing  Address — Removal  to  Dayton,  Ohio 
— In  1870  Visits  Pacific  Coast — Traveling  by  Stage — 
Colorado  Mission — INIeeting  of  the  Board  of  Missions  in 
Baltimore — General  Conference  of  1873 — Lay  Delega-. 
tion — Special  Law — Under  a  Cloud — West  Mississippi 
District — Closing  Address — Made  Doctor  of  Divinity 
— In  1876  Visits  Pacific  Coast — General  Conference  of 
1877 — Old  Questions — Sermon  on  Character  of  Bishop 
Edwards — East  District — Sickness — Railroad  Accident 
— Churchville  Church  —  Article  on  Lay  Delegation — 
Seminary  Discourses. 

The  fifteentli  General  Conference  assembled  at 
Lebanon,  Pennsylvania,  Alay  20, 1869.  Since  1817 
all  of  the  General  Conferences  had  been  held 
in  Ohio  with  the  exception  of  that  of  1865,  which 
w^as  held  in  Iowa.  The  increase  in  members 
since  the  last  General  Conference  was  18,311,  the 
total  membership  being  108,122.  The  delegates 
of  the  General  Conference  came  together  with 
greater  differences  of  views  on  church  questions, 
and  with  greater  independence  of  spirit  than  had 
characterized  the  delegates  of  any  preceding 
General  Conference.     Bishops  Glossbrenner,  Ed- 

208 


20-1  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

wards,  "Weaver,  Markwood,  and  Shuck  were  all 
})resent. 

The  subject  of  lay  delegation  came  up  for  a 
large  share  of  attention.  The  bishops  appointed 
a  special  committee  on  this  subject,  who  reported 
a  change  of  constitution  making  lay  delegation 
possible,  to  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  member- 
ship of  the  Church  under  such  regulations  as  the 
bishops  might  adopt.  The  report  of  the  commit- 
tee was  rejected.  Thirty -two  of  the  delegates, 
however,  were  disposed  to  favor  it.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  made  an  inefl'ectual  effort  to  secure 
a  reconsideration  with  a  view  to  a  different  result. 

The  secrecy  question  in  one  form  or  another 
occupied  more  than  three  full  days  of  the  session. 
A  majority  report  forbidding  all  connection  with 
secret  societies  was  adopted  by  seventy-two  votes 
in  the  affirmative  against  twenty-five  in  the 
negative.  Those  voting  in  the  negative  were  in 
favor  of  an  advisory  rule.  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
voted  in  the  affirmative.  He  spoke  in  favor  of  a 
motion  to  submit  an  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion, touching  the  article  on  secret  combinations. 
While  the  constitution  remained  as  it  was,  he  felt 
compelled  to  vote  in  favor  of  a  universal  prohibi- 
tory rule. 

An  important  act  of  the  General  Conference 
was   the   adoption    of  measures   that  led  to  the 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  205 

establishing  of  a  theological  seminary.  When 
the  educational  work  of  the  Church  had  its 
beginning,  everyone  disavowed  the  idea  of  intend- 
ing to  secure  an  educated  ministry.  Up  to  1865 
this  continued  to  be  the  prevalent  sentiment.  In 
the  General  Conference  of  1865,  it  was  proposed 
to  bury  out  of  sight  the  word  "preacher-factory,"' 
and  an  effort  was  made  to  attach  theological 
departments  to  some  of  the  colleges.  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  successful.  The  bishops  in  their 
address  at  the  present  session  commended  the 
subject  of  theological  education  to  the  attention 
of  the  conference.  A  committee  reported  a  plan 
similar  to  that  urged  in  1865,  but  the  conference 
would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  an 
independent  institution,  and  the  requisite  meas- 
ures to  that  end  were  adopted. 

An  important  point  in  the  measures  of  the 
session  was  the  action  in  regard  to  the  African 
mission.  The  question  as  to  the  abandonment 
of  the  mission  was  submitted  by  the  Board  of 
Missions.  The  general  sentiment  was  that  the 
mission  should  be  better  manned  and  supported 
or  else  be  abandoned.  This  was  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner's  sentiment.  Shortly  after  the  mission 
was  founded,  he  had  deplored  in  a  published  arti- 
cle, the  difficulty  in  obtaining  volunteers  for  the 
mission.     The  conference  voted  to  keep  the  door 


206  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENKEK. 

open;  and  afterward,  Bishop  Glossbrcnner  was 
one  of  the  number  that  chose  Rev.  J.  Gomer  and 
wife  as  missionaries,  under  whose  labor  the  Afri- 
can work  has  had  so  harge  a  degree  of  success. 

Bisliops  Glossbrcnner,  Edwards,  and  "Weaver 
were  re-elected  bishops.  Rev.  J.  Dickson,  of 
Pennsylvania  Conference,  was  elected  to  take  the 
place  of  Bishop  Markwood,  whose  afflictions  dis- 
qualified him  for  further  service.  The  bishops 
were  to  visit  by  turns  the  Pacific  conferences. 
Bishop  Glossbrcnner  was  assigned  to  the  Ohio 
district,  consisting  of  Scioto,  Sandusky,  Auglaize, 
Miami,  Ohio  German,  North  Ohio,  Western 
Reserve,  and  Canada  conferences.  He  Avas  re- 
elected president  of  the  missionary  society. 

Bishop  Glossbrcnner  at  the  close  of  the  session 
made  the  following  remarks: 

I  go  away  from  this  General  Conference  to  commence 
my  seventh  term  as  one  of  the  superintendents  of  the 
Church.  Although  in  j^our  wisdom  50U  have  deter- 
mined that  I  should  occupy  a  different  field  of  labor 
from  that  which  I  have  been  occupying  for  the  last 
sixteen  years,  I  go  willingly,  I  go  cheerfull}'.  It  would 
not  do  very  well  for  us,  as  superintendents  of  this 
Church,  who  from  3'ear  to  year  instruct  our  brethren 
to  take  their  fields  as  clieerfull}'  as  possible,  to  mur- 
mur at  the  appointment  that  we  may  receive  at 
3'our  hands.  ...  I  trust  that  the  members  of  the 
East  district  will  receive  the  dear  brother  (Bishop  Wea- 
ver) that  comes  after  me  with  the  same  Christian  charity 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  207 

and  forbearance  that  you  have  always  exercised  towards 
me.  You  have  one  to  preside  over  you  who  will  take  a 
deep  interest  in  all  of  your  interests.  .  .  .  During^ 
this  session  you  have  elected  a  new  superintendent,  one 
who  has  never  labored  with  us  in  this  department  of  the 
work.  I  rejoice  to  be  able  to  saj-  that  you  have  elected  a 
tried  man.  .  .  .  Although  I  have  been  in  this  position 
for  twenty-four  years,  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say  to-day, 
that  from  the  first  down  to  this  time  there  has  never 
been  anything  between  us — your  superintendents — to 
cause  an  unpleasant  feeling. 

My  brethren,  let  me  say  to  you  all  as  ministers  of  the 
Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  go  out  into  the 
world  walking  by  the  same  rule,  minding  the  same 
thing,  contending  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  Above  all  things  labor  to  maintain  in  this 
Church,  the  pure  and  unadulterated  principles  of  the 
gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  never,  never  fail 
to  insist  upon  this  one  great  truth,  that  men  must  seek, 
must  find  a  personal  and  experimental  interest  in  the 
atonement  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  fall  of  1869  Bishop  Glossbrenner  at- 
tended his  conferences  on  the  Ohio  district.  In 
December,  1869,  he  with  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  took 
up  his  residence  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  occupying 
rooms  and  taking  boarding  with  the  family  of 
Rev.  W.  H.  Lanthern.  Hev.  D.  K,  Flickinger 
boarded  at  the  same  place.  The  years  spent  by 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  in  Dayton  were  among  the 
most  pleasant  in  his  life.  He  gave  himself  to 
the  work  of  his  district  with  great  zeal  and  faith- 


208  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBREXNER. 

fulness.  He  connected  himself  closely  with  the 
work  of  the  locjil  church  in  Daj'ton,  to  which  he 
and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  transferred  their  member- 
ship. He  was,  when  at  home,  an  attendant  of 
the  prayer  and  official  meetings.  He  was  always 
ready  to  preach  when  called  upon.  He  served 
on  the  executive  committee  of  the  missionary 
board.  Throughout  the  entire  term  his  labors 
were  given  closely  to  the  Ohio  district.  In 
August  1871  he  delivered  an  extended  address 
at  what  was  intended  to  be  the  dedication  of 
the  new  building  of  Otterbein  University.  In 
consequence  of  the  incomplete  state  of  the  build- 
ing, the  formal  dedication  did  not  take  place  till 
the  following  May,  at  which  time  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner delivered  a  short  address. 

In  fultillment  of  his  duty  assigned  by  the 
General  Conference,  he  visited  in  the  spring  of 
1870  the  conferences  of  the  Pacific  coast.  Bishop 
Weaver  had  visited  these  conferences  in  1869. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  at  a  much  earlier  period  had 
arranged  to  make  a  visit  to  the  Pacific  confer- 
ences, but  the  great  difficulties  in  the  way  had 
prevented  his  carrying  out  his  purpose.  It  was 
not  till  1869  that  the  great  trans-continental  rail- 
Avay  was  completed. 

On  leaving  home  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  Mrs. 
Glossbrenner   accompanying    him,   first  went  to 


LIFE  OS"  GLOSSBRENNEK.  209 

Canada  to  preside  over  Canada  Conference,  which 
met  at  New  Dundee,  Ontario,  April  14,  1870. 
After  the  session  he  remained  a  week  visiting 
dift'erent  fields  of  labor  and  preaching  on  an 
average  once  per  day.  He  then  went  to  Buffalo, 
New  York,  whence  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  departed 
for  Virginia,  and  he  for  Shueyville,  Iowa,  where 
he  had  an  appointment  to  dedicate  a  church.  He 
preached  a  magnificent  sermon  from  one  of  his 
favorite  texts — "  Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
church."  The  presence  of  a  number  of  families 
from  the  bounds  of  Virginia  Conference  at 
Shueyville,  was  doubtless  the  reason  for  his  being 
requested  to  dedicate  the  church.  He  visited 
Western,  and  preached  in  the  cliapel  of  Western 
College. 

On  the  2d  of  May  he  took  the  train  for  Sacra- 
mento, California.  He  gave,  in  a  series  of  twelve 
letters  in  the  Religious  Telescope,  an  account  of 
what  he  witnessed  from  the  time  of  his  leaving 
home  till  the  time  of  his  return.  The  first  whole 
night  on  the  cars,  having  an  entire  seat  to  himself, 
and  "  not  having  as  much  extended  humanity  as 
Bishop  Weaver,"  he  did  not  take  a  Pullman 
sleeper,  and  saved  his  four  dollars  for  "  harder 
times."  In  referring  to  the  scenery  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  mountains  he  said:  "I  am  in  the  midst 
of  mountains  covered  with  majestic  pines.     I  am 


210  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

reminded  of  the  scenery  of  the  Virginia  moun- 
tains, which,  so  beautiful  and  grand,  attracted  my 
attention  and  filled  me  with  delight,  as  in  my 
youthful  days  I  crossed  and  re-crossed  them  as  an 
itinerant  minister.  Some  of  the  happiest  and 
perhaps  most  successful  years  of  my  ministry 
were  spent  among  the  mountains  and  hills  of 
Virginia.  In  looking  back  to  those  days,  and 
thinking  of  her  majestic  mountains,  her  fruitful 
hills  and  valleys,  her  beautiful  rivers,  and  her 
people  proverbial  for  their  hospitality,  I  feel  like 
exclaiming,  '  A-^irginia,  with  all  thy  faults  I  love 
thee  still.' " 

He  reached  Sacramento  on  May  7th  after  a 
continuous  journey  of  five  days.  He  was  met 
by  friends  and  conveyed  to  Alexander  Valley 
where,  on  May  12th,  California  Conference  con- 
vened. The  condition  of  the  conference  was  not 
one  of  thrift.  There  had  been  great  difficulties 
to  surmount  and  there  were  few  unreserved 
itinerants.  Few  of  the  ministers  had  taken  up 
their  missionary  collections,  and  collections  for 
the  support  of  the  bishop  had  been  entirely 
neglected.  It  was  expected  that  the  Pacific  con- 
ferences would  at  least  meet  the  expenses  of  their 
superintendent.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  re- 
fused in  the  cases  of  other  mission  conferences 
to  allow  missionary  funds  to  be  drawn  on  for  his 


LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  211 

support,  and  in  this  case  after  some  "  scolding" 
the  brethren  were  convinced  that  they  were  fully 
able  to  do  what  was  expected  of  them,  and 
responded  to  that  extent.  Years  afterward  the 
brethren  of  California  Conference  wrote,  "  Bishop 
Glossbrenner's  paternal  tenderness  and  deep  piety 
are  referred  to  with  pleasure  and  profit." 

He  next  proceeded  by  stage  to  the  place  of 
holding  Oregon  Conference,  traveling  a  distance 
of  six  hundred  miles,  largely  over  a  wild,  moun- 
tainous country.  The  undertaking  was  quite 
formidable,  yet  he  had  cause  for  gratitude.  Al- 
luding to  a  peril  that  befell  Bishop  Weaver  in 
traveling  over  the  same  route,  he  said:  "  Bishop 
Weaver  was  fortunate  that  he  did  not  go  over  the 
embankment,  when  one  of  his  mules  got  over.  I 
feel  that  I  am  more  fortunate,  for  none  of  our 
mules  got  over  the  bank  at  all,  and  I  did  not 
have  the  unpleasantness  of  a  big  scare."  Oregon 
Conference  convened  at  Philomath,  Oregon,  May 
26th.  Sermons  were  preached  every  day  at  eleven 
A.  M.  and  at  seven  and  a  half  P.  M.  throughout 
the  five  days,  including  the  Sabbath,  of  the  ses- 
sion. The  Bishop  was  greatly  delighted  with  the 
wonderful  scenery  about  Philomath.  At  this 
time,  however,  neither  the  college  there  located, 
nor  the  conference  was  in  a  thriving  condition. 

He    next   proceeded   to   the   place    of  holding 


212  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Cascade  Conference,  journeying  a  considerable 
part  of  the  way  by  boat  on  the  AVillamette  and 
Columbia  rivers.  lie  made  stops  at  Salem  and 
Portland,  at  both  of  which  places  he  preached. 
He  also  attended  a  camp-meeting  held  about 
sixteen  miles  from  Portland.  After  continuously 
viewing  the  marvelous  scenery  on  the  Columbia 
River,  he  felt  himself  almost  "  sated  with  magni- 
ficence." At  Dallas  City  he  laid  aside  his 
accustomed  reserve  and  registered  himself  Bishop 
of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  and  in  return 
received  the  best  accommodations  and  attentions 
that  his  hotel  could  afibrd.  In  all  his  journeys 
on  the  Pacific  Coast  he  received  the  most  respect- 
ful treatment  and  the  largest  favors,  material  and 
otherwise,  that  any  minister  of  the  gospel  could 
desire.  Such  favors  were  not  given  simply  to  the 
dignitaries  of  the  church,  but  to  all  ministers.  He 
greatly  appreciated  the  cordiality  with  which  he 
was  received  by  the  representatives  of  other 
churches,  pastors,  college  presidents,  and  others. 
Even  civil  officers  and  business  men  seemed  to 
feel  that  in  a  visitant  from  the  "States"  they  had 
a  comrade. 

Cascade  Conference  met  on  the  camp-ground 
at  Mill  Creek,  Washington  Territory,  June  16th. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  preached  every  day  of  the 
session.     The  secretary  of  the  conference  wrote: 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  213 

"  "We  will  long  remember  his  kindness  and  coun- 
sel, and  earnestl}'  pray  that  the  Lord  will  preserve 
his  health  and  strength  for  many  years  to  come, 
so  that  he  may  be  permitted  to  visit  us  once  more 
in  these  ends  of  the  earth." 

He  was  now  ready  to  begin  his  homeward 
trip.  He  journeyed  five  hundred  miles  by  stage 
to  Kelton  on  the  Pacific  railway.  On  this  jour- 
ney a  half- fare  permit  saved  him  thirty-seven  and 
a  half  dollars.  On  his  return  course  he  stopped 
to  visit  the  infant  mission  in  Colorado.  One 
missionary.  Rev.  St.  Clair  Ross,  with  two  local 
ministers,  constituted  the  ministerial  force.  The 
prospect,  however,  was  hopeful.  On  Sabbath 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  preached  to  a  respectable 
congregation  under  a  large  cotton-wood  tree  on. 
the  bank  of  the  South  Platte  River.  He  halted 
again  in  Illinois,  where  he  dedicated  two  churches. 
He  then  proceeded  to  his  home  in  Dayton,  Ohio. 

We  cannot  pass  by  a  pleasant  trip  enjoyed  by 
Bishop  and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  along  with  a  num- 
ber of  friends.  In  August,  1872,  the  Board  of 
Missions  met  in  Baltimore,  Maryland.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  planned  the  trip  to  Baltimore,  so 
as  to  give  to  the  party  a  pleasant  sojourn  in  the 
"  hill  country  of  Maryland."  The  party,  besides 
Bishop  and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner,  included  Dr.  and 
Mrs.   Berger,    Rev.    W.  II.    Lanthern    and  wife, 


214  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Mrs.  T.  X.  Sowers,  Rev.  D.  C.  Kninler,  and 
others.  They  went  hy  the  picturesque  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  route.  On  their  way  they  halted  at 
Harper's  Ferry  and  devoted  a  day  to  clinihing 
the  hills,  and  contemplating  the  grandeur  of  that 
romantic  spot,  and  coinniuiiing  with  the  history 
of  the  tragic  events  there  enacted. 

Thence  the  party  proceeded  to  Keedysville, 
Maryland.  Here  Bishop  Glosshrenner  had 
arranged  to  have  the  members  of  the  company 
distributed  to  friends  whose  known  hospitality  he 
had  enjoyed  in  years  agone.  The  battle  fields  of 
Antietam  and  South  Mountain  added  to  the 
strange  impressiveness  of  that  region  in  which 
valley,  mountain,  streams,  and  sky  enter  into  such 
surprising  combinations.  On  the  first  Sabbath 
r3ishop  Glosshrenner  preached  at  Keedysville, 
Mr.  Lanthern  at  Boonsboro,  and  Dr.  Berger  at 
Rohrersville.  Revs.  J.  W.  Hott  and  W.  0. 
Grimm,  the  ministers  in  charge  of  these  points, 
contributed  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  their 
guests.  The  second  Sabbath,  with  some  of  the 
intervening  time  was  spent  in  and  about  Freder- 
ick City.  On  Sabbath  Bishop  Glosshrenner 
preached  at  Rocky  Springs,  Mr.  Lanthern  and 
Mr.  Kumler  at  Georgetown,  and  Dr.  Berger  at 
Baker  Valley.  In  Washington  County,  the 
"  Gibralter  of  the  United  Brethren  Church,"  and 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  215 

Frederick  County  where  the  first  two  of  the 
regular  annual  conferences  were  held,  the  com- 
pany were  richly  regaled  with  history  from  the 
heroic  days  of  the  Church.  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
had  his  own  special  reasons  for  gladness  of  heart, 
as  he  journeyed  over  territory,  every  part  of 
which  suggested  the  events  of  his  first  years  in 
the  ministry.  He  had  planned  all  of  the  details 
of  the  trip  with  that  forethought  and  exactness 
characteristic  of  all  his  undertakings.  The  meet- 
ing of  the  missionary  board  in  Baltimore  passed 
ofl:' pleasantly.  One  of  the  features  was  the  discus- 
sion of  a  number  of  topics  previously  assigned. 
After  the  session,  Bishop  and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner 
spent  some  time  in  Virginia, 

The  sixteenth  General  Conference  assembled 
at  Dayton,  Ohio,  May  15,  1873.  Immediately 
upon  the  opening  of  the  session  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner preached  the  opening  sermon,  taking  as 
his  text,  "  What  was  it  that  ye  disputed  among 
yourselves  by  the  way?" — Mark  9:33.  The 
sermon  was  able  and  apposite,  and  delivered  in 
the  Bisliop's  well-known  earnest  and  eifective 
manner.  Bishop  Edwards  had  preached  the 
opening  sermon  of  the  preceding  General  Con- 
ference, but  the  plan  of  an  opening  sermon  has 
not  been  suffered  to  become  a  custom.  The 
report  of  the  bishops  showed  a  membership  of 


216  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

125,658,  an  increase  for  tlie  quadreiunum  of 
17,357.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  took  a  larger  part 
in  the  proceedings  of  the  conference  than  he  had 
taken  in  those  of  other  conferences  of  the  recent 
past. 

Lay  delegation  received  very  favorable  consider- 
ation, a  proposition  to  submit  to  the  merabersliip 
of  the  Church  an  amendment  to  the  constitution 
authorizing  lay  delegation,  being  adopted  b}'  a 
majority  of  ninety  to  twelve.  The  details  of 
taking  the  vote  were  left  to  the  decision  of  the 
bishops.  But  neither  the  conference,  nor  as  it 
afterward  proved,  the  bishops  could  agree  on  the 
method  to  be  followed. 

The  secrecy  question  came  in  for  a  large  meas- 
ure of  attention.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  voted 
against  the  resolution  by  Avhioh  it  was  proposed 
that  in  "cases  of  special  law,"  names  of  members 
might  be  erased  without  the  consent  of  the  class. 
The  resolution,  however,  prevailed.  He  voted 
along  with  the  great  majority  of  the  conference 
that  a  motion  to  limit  the  prohibitory  character 
of  the  rule  on  secret  societies  to  Freemasonry 
could  not  be  ontertainod^  in  view  of  the  language 
of  the  constitution. 

It  may  as  well  be  frankly  stated  that  through- 
out the  session  Bishop  Glossbrenner  rested  under 
the  disfavor  of  the  nuijority  of  the  delegates.     It 


LIFE    OP   GLOSSBRENNER.  217 

was  their  opinion  that  he  had  not  been  faithful 
up  to  the  measure  of  his  authority  and  ability  in 
enforcing  the  secrecy  law.  This  opinion  was  due 
in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  failure  to  carry  out 
the  law  belonged  especially  to  the  East  district 
where  he  had  been  continuously  for  four  terms  the 
presiding  bishop.  The  law  enacted  in  1869,  that 
thereafter  no  bishop  should  remain  on  the  same 
district  longer  than  one  term,  had  special  reference 
to  his  case.  The  fact  that  in  the  Ohio  district, 
over  which  he  had  presided  during  the  preceding 
quadrennium,  the  law  was  not  generally  carried 
out,  did  not  cause  the  majority  in  the  conference 
to  think  better  of  his  administration.  It  re- 
mained yet  to  appear  that  under  the  administra- 
tion of  any  and  all  of  the  bishops,  no  difference 
how  strenuous  they  might  be,  the  change  of 
sentiment  and  practice  would  yet  go  forward.  If 
it  were  the  purpose  to  write  a  defensive  life  of 
Bishop  Glossbrenner,  it  might  be  shown,  no 
matter  what  his  individual  sentiments  might  be, 
that  no  bishop  of  the  United  Brethren  Church 
has  had  a  clearer  conception  than  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner, of  what  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the 
Church  require,  or  has  been  more  careful  and 
uniform  on  every  variety  of  subject  in  the  proper 
enforcement  of  the  same,  than  he.  He  was 
churchly  in  his  sentiments.     He  could  vote  for 


218  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

changes  in  the  constitution  luid  in  the  laws,  but 
while  they  remained  unchanged  he  was  not  the 
one  to  trample  upon  them. 

It  was  the  purpose  of  a  number  of  the  dele- 
gates to  do  what  they  could  to  prevent  his  re- 
election as  bishop.  Some  were  not  unwilling 
that  he  should  be  re-elected,  but  they  desired 
that  he  should  be  chosen  by  the  smallest  vote 
possible.  "When  the  vote  was  taken  he  received 
eleven  more  votes  than  the  necessary  number  to 
elect;  Bishop  Edwards  who  received  the  highest 
number  of  votes,  receiving  thirty  more  than  the 
required  number.  All  of  the  bishops  were  re- 
elected— Glossbrenner,  Edwards,  Weaver,  and 
Dickson.  Bishop  Edwards  was  elected  president 
of  the  Board  of  Missions  in  the  place  of  Bishop 
Glossbrenner,  who  had  been  president  of  the 
board  from  the  organization  of  the  society. 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  assigned  to  the  West 
Mississippi  district.  This  appointment,  especially 
in  view  of  the  hardships  involved  to  a  man  of  his 
years,  he  now  being  sixty-one  years  of  age,  was 
another  indication  of  the  current  of  feeling  in  the 
conference.  lie  felt  that  in  this  act  it  was  the 
purpose  of  some  at  least  to  force  him  to  resign. 
The  knowledge  that  he  was  held  in  suspicion  and 
that  some  of  his  best  friends  of  other  years  were 
disjDosed  to  put  a  stigma  on  his  character  and 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  219 

work,  could  not  fail  to  cause  excruciating  pain  to 
a  nature  as  highly  sensitive  as  his.  One  whole 
night  in  the  first  part  of  the  session  he  spent  in 
prayer  and  anguish  before  God.  He  obtained 
victory  and  composure  in  his  own  soul,  through 
which  he  was  sustained  in  all  the  experiences 
that  followed. 

At  the  close  of  the  session,  after  some  remarks 
by  Bishop  Weaver,  Bishop  Glossbreuner  spoke 
as  follows: 

I  have  not  been  disappointed  at  all  in  the  report  of  the 
stationing  committee.  It  is  just  such  as  I  have  been 
expecting  for  the  last  two  or  three  days,  and  is  such  a 
report  as  I  could  not  help  expecting,  from  circumstances 
that  I  will  not  now  name.  As  old  as  I  am,  sir,  after 
forty-two  years  in  the  itinerancy  of  this  church,  without 
the  loss  of  a  year,  I  feel  that  if  I  am  not  sufl&ciently 
strong  in  some  respects,  I  am  sufl&ciently  strong  in  heart 
to  go  forward  and  do  whatever  this  church  requires  me 
to  do.  It  ma}^  have  been  expected  by  some  that  I  would 
resign.  I  don't  resign.  I  go  to  my  district  to  do  as  best 
I  can.  Glossbrenner  is  not  constitutionally  made  as 
some  other  men  are,  and  he  cannot  re-make  himself 
And  here  permit  me  to  say  that  during  this  General 
Conference,  some  things  have  occurred  that  pained  me 
deeply,  wounded  me  deeply,  but  I  lay  all  these  things 
aside.  And,  my  dear  brethren  in  Christ,  and  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  whatever  yoit 
may  imagine,  my  motives,  in  the  sight  of  Him  who  sees 
your  hearts  and  my  heart,  have  been  pure.  Whatever 
my  administration  has  been  in  this  church  for  the  last 


220  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

forty-two  years,  I  am  willing  that  it  should  be  inspected 
at  any  time  by  anj'  department  in  this  church.  I  think 
that  whenever  there  are  serious  complaints  against  the 
actions  or  course  of  one  of  the  bishops  of  the  Church, 
they  should  be  brought  to  the  General  Conference  and 
then  let  the  individual  meet  them. 

A  great  many  years  ago  I  was  on  the  district  to  which 
you  have  now  assigned  me.  The  second  conference  that 
was  held  in  Iowa  I  had  the  pleasure  of  holding.  I  have 
visited  that  district  of  countrj^  since  then,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  if  the  providence  of  God  permits  me  to  go  to 
the  West  Mississippi  district,  I  shall  find  there  brethren 
good  and  true.  I  believe  it  in  my  heart,  and  I  am  not 
afraid  to  trust  the  brethren  there,  and  I  hope  that  they 
are  not  afraid  to  trust  me.  .  .  And  now,  brethren, 
let  us  all  go  away  from  this  General  Conference  deter- 
mined that  in  the  strength  of  our  Master  we  will  main- 
tain the  bonds  of  fellowship  in  the  bonds  of  peace.  .  . 
This  church  has  had  my  youthful  days,  it  has  had  my 
riper  years,  and,  God  willing,  it  shall  have  the  years  of 
my  old  age.  Whether  I  live  long  or  die  soon,  I  hope  to 
die  at  my  post. 

In  1873  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was.  honored  with 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  if  the  receiving- 
of  such  a  degree  should  be  spoken  of  as  adding 
honor  to  one  of  his  recognized  standing.  In 
connection  with  a  published  announcement  of 
the  conferring  of  the  degree,  bestowed  by  Otter- 
bein  University  and  Lebanon  Valley  College  at 
the  same  time,  the  foHowing  statement  appeared: 
•'  The  degree  could  not  have  been  more  worthily 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  221 

bestowed.  The  Bishop  has  been  for  a  long  series 
of  years  one  of  the  most  interesting  expounders 
of  God's  word,  in  which  he  displays  remarkable 
soundness  and  skill."  Bishop  Edwards,  himself 
no  mean  theologian,  said,  "I  regard  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  the  best  theologian  in  the  United 
Brethren  Church."  Bishop  Edwards  was  sur- 
prised that  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  sent  to  the 
West  Mississippi  district  at  the  preceding  session 
of  the  General  Conference,  but  said  he,  "  Of  all 
us  bishops,  he  is  the  man  for  the  field.  He  can 
give  the  people  there  more  sound  theology  than 
all  of  the  rest  of  us  together,  and  that  is  what 
they  need  above  all  things  else."  He  did  not 
usually  present  his  theology  as  theology,  but  it 
was  not  the  worse  theology  for  that.  But  what- 
ever his  deserts  might  be,  he  felt  compelled  to 
decline  the  title  conferred.  In  his  letter  declining 
the  title,  he  said:  "Your  action  in  thus  conferring 
so  high  an  honor  on  one  so  unworthy  as  myself 
will  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance.  Yet  for 
reasons  perfectly  satisfactory  to  myself,  if  not  to 
many  of  my  friends  in  and  out  of  the  Church,  I 
most  respectfully  decline  the  proffered  title."  He 
felt  that  the  title  would  not  lit  him.  It  certainly 
did  not  indicate  his  real  distinction.  Later,  when 
the  title  was  bestowed  anew,  he  neither  declined 
nor  accepted,  leaving  it  with  his  friends  to  use 
the  title  or  not. 


222  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

His  conferences  for  the  quadrennium  were 
Iowa,  Minnesota,  East  Des  Moines,  West  Des 
Moines,  Fox  River,  Wisconsin,  Eock  River, 
Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Osage,  and  Missouri. 
He  did  not  move  to  his  district,  but  returned  to 
his  home  in  Virginia.  He  remained  considerable 
periods  on  his  district,  however,  Mrs.  Glossbren- 
ner  some  of  the  time  being  with  him. 

In  1876  he  visited  the  Pacific  conferences,  and 
in  returning  held  Colorado  Conference.  His 
route  in  making  this  visit  was  almost  identical 
with  that  followed  in  1870.  California  Confer- 
ence was  held  at  Rohnersville,  Humboldt  County, 
California,  at  the  extreme  western  point  of  the 
United  States.  To  reach  the  place  a  steamboat 
voyage  from  San  Francisco  was  necessary.  The 
amount  of  staging  necessary  to  reach  Oregon 
Conference  had  been  lessened  by  the  extension  of 
railroads.  Just  before  reaching  the  place  where 
Oregon  Conference  was  to  convene,  while  being 
carried  in  a  private  conveyance,  he  met  with  a 
sad  mishap.  A  single-tree  broke  and  the  horses 
becoming  frightened  were  about  to  run  away. 
He  jumped  out  of  the  carriage,  lighting  in  a 
mire.  He  sunk  so  deep  as  to  almost  despair  of 
getting  out.  When  he  succeeded  in  extricating 
himself  he  was  minus  a  shoe  which  he  never  re- 
covered.    He  was  taken  to  his  destination  feeling 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  223 

and  looking  "  very  little  like  a  bishop."  Walla 
Walla  Conference  met  in  connection  with  a 
grove  meeting  abont  six  miles  from  Walla  Walla. 
The  Conference  had  been  dissolved  the  year 
before  by  the  Board  of  Missions  and  at  this  time 
was  restored  by  the  order  of  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions. Bishop  Glossbrenner  took  a  strict  course 
in  organizing  the  conference  anew,  and  it  began 
its  second  period  as  a  conference  with  largely 
improved  prospects. 

Colorado  Conference  was  held  at  Long  Moun- 
tain. This  place  was  near  the  St.  Vrain  River, 
just  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
congregation  on  Sabbath  was  so  large  that  it  was 
necessary  to  repair  to  a  grove.  Here  the  wagons 
and  buggies  filled  with  people  were  formed  into  a 
circle.  A  large  number  of  listeners  occupied  the 
enclosed  space.  The  Bishop  preached  from  a 
wagon  brought  to  a  convenient  place.  He  spoke 
with  unusual  freedom  and  power.  While  in 
Colorado  he  received  his  first  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  Bishop  Edwards.  In  concluding  a 
letter  to  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  he  wrote,  "  Just  this 
moment  I  received  the  sad  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  my  co-laborer.  Bishop  Edwards.  I  can- 
not help  but  weep.  Thus  one  after  another  falls, 
but  the  Master  will  raise  up  others  to  take  our 
place.     The   Lord  bless  and  comfort  his  family." 


22-4  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

On  this  trip  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  successful 
in  collecting  a  number  of  interesting  specimens. 
He  had  acquired  a  very  creditable  amount  of 
exact  knowledge  in  the  natural  sciences,  which 
contributed  largely  to  his  skill  and  pleasure  in 
making  collections. 

After  his  return  he  first  visited  the  work  in 
Dakota  Territory.  While  here,  he  with  others 
engaged  in  an  exciting  antelope  chase,  which 
proved  more  tiring  than  successful,  lie  enjoyed, 
though,  the  excitement.  In  July  he  began  his 
last  round  of  conferences  for  the  term,  Missouri 
Conference  being  the  first  held.  liock  River 
was  the  twelfth  and  last  conference  held  on  his 
own  district.  In  consequence  of  the  death  of 
Bishop  Edwards,  the  superintendent  of  the  East 
district,  he  held  the  Tennessee  and  East  German 
conferences,  and  assisted  Bishop  Dickson  in 
presiding  over  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  confer- 
ences. 

In  holding  the  last  session  of  some  of  his 
conferences  on  the  West  Mississippi  district,  he 
gave  a  formal  farewell  to  the  ministers  and 
friends.  These  occasions  were  not  occasions  of 
prevailing  sadness,  but  seasoiis  in  which  the 
anticipation  of  meeting  again  about  the  eternal 
throne  was  the  predominant  thought.  In  view 
of  the  one  term  rule  he  could  have  little  expecta- 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  225 

tion  of  returning  to  the  district.  He  had  greatly 
endeared  himself  to  the  brethren  in  some  of  the 
western  conferences,  by  his  efforts  to  secure  aid 
for  them  in  their  distress  and  peril  occasioned  by 
loss  of  crops.  In  closing  his  last  annual  report 
he  used  the  following  language:  "Some  of  you 
I  expect  to  see  at  the  approaching  General  Con- 
ference, but  the  most  of  you  I  do  not  expect  to 
see  again  till  we  meet  with  the  general  assembly 
and  church  of  the  first  born,  in  our  Father's 
house  above.  Stand  firm;  endure  hardness  as 
good  soldiers  of  Christ.  '  Only  let  your  conversa- 
tion be  as  it  becometh  the  gospel  of  Christ;  that 
whether  I  come  and  see  you  or  else  be  absent,  I 
may  hear  of  your  affairs  that  ye  stand  fast  in  one 
spirit,  with  one  mind  striving  together  for  the 
faith  of  the  gospel.'  " 

The  General  Conference  convened  at  West- 
field,  Illinois,  May  10,  1877.  The  membership 
of  the  Church  was  now  144,881,  a  gain  for  the 
preceding  term  of  19,223.  At  this  session  the 
bishops  were  not  called  on  to  vote  on  the  ques- 
tions on  which  there  was  a  division  of  sentiment. 
The  old  questions  were  again  the  prominent  ones. 
The  secrecy  law  was  made  as  nearly  self-executing 
as  it  was  possible  to  make  a  law.  "While  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  consented  to  the  law,  he  earnestly 
desired  that  it  should  be  somewhat  amended.     A 

15 


226  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

plan  for  a  modified  p'O  rata  representation  failed, 
by  a  single  vote,  of  adoption.  Lay  delegation 
was  earnestly  discussed,  but  all  propositions 
looking  in  the  direction  of  lay  representation  in 
the  General  Conference  were  rejected.  Action 
was  taken,  however,  opening  the  way  for  lay 
delegation  in  the  annual  conferences.  This  was 
an  important  step. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  opposed  sending  represen- 
tatives to  the  Methodist  Ecumenical  Conference 
to  convene  at  London.  He  had  previously  pub- 
lished an  article,  condemning  the  perversion  of 
history  by  which  some  sought  to  make  the 
United  Brethren  Church  a  branch  of  Methodism. 
The  General  Conference  took  action,  resulting  in 
the  sending  of  representatives,  though  not  as 
regular  delegates. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  re-elected  bishop  by 
a  truly  complimentary  vote.  Bishops  Weaver 
and  Dickson  were  also  re-elected.  To  fill  the 
place  of  Bishop  Edwards,  deceased,  and  to  supply 
the  Pacific  Coast  with  a  resident  bishop,  Rev.  M. 
Wright,  of  White  River  Conference,  and  Rev.  N. 
Castle,  of  St.  Joseph  Conference,  were  made 
bishops.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  sent  to  the 
East  district.  He  was  elected  president  of  the 
Board  of  Missions.  On  the  first  Sabbath  of  the 
session  he  preached  an  able  and  impressive  ser- 
mon in  memory  of  Bishop  Edwards. 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  227 

He  went  forth  from  this  session  of  the  General 
Conference  to  enter  upon  his  ninth  term  as 
hishop.  A  writer  present  at  the  session  wrote  of 
him:  "Age  sits  gracefully  upon  him,  and  he 
maintains  his  mental  and  physical  powers  with- 
out abatement."  Yet  he  himself  was  conscious 
that  his  strength  for  service  was  not  up  to  the 
mark  of  other  years.  The  East  district  com- 
prised the  Allegheny,  Eastern,  Pennsylvania, 
East  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Parkersburg,  Erie, 
Muskingum,  and  Tennessee  conferences.  During 
the  quadrennium  he  continued  to  reside  at 
Churchville,  Virginia.  The  bishop's  parsonage 
at  Baltimore  was  rented,  the  proceeds  going  to 
pay  a  debt  on  the  property.  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner  met  all  of  his  conferences  throughout  the 
quadrennium  with  the  exception  of  Allegheny, 
Pennsylvania,  East  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and 
Eastern  in  1880,  which  Bishop  Dickson  presided 
over  in  his  stead.  His  failure  to  meet  his  con- 
ferences was  due  to  sickness. 

On  his  way  to  Allegheny  Conference,  which 
was  to  convene  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania, 
Eebruary  18,  1880,  he  stopped  at  Chambersburg 
where  he  had  consented  to  spend  a  Sabbath,  and 
to  preach  morning  and  evening.  He  preached  a 
very  impressive  sermon  in  the  morning.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  sermon  his  strength  perceptibly 


228  LIFE   OF   QLOSSBRENNEK. 

failetl,  but  liis  physical  exhaustion  and  apparent 
illness  only  added  force  to  the  words  with  which 
he  closed,  which  were  as  follows :  "  The  few  days 
I  may  yet  have  to  live  let  me  spend  in  the 
church,  laboring  for  the  church,  and  when 
I  die,  let  me  be  buried  by  the  church,  and 
at  the  resurrection  let  me  come  up  with  the 
church,  and  with  the  church  be  forever  with  the 
Lord."  He  was  too  ill  to  preach  at  night,  and 
rapidly  became  worse  till  the  most  serious  appre- 
hensions were  excited.  His  wife,  coming  to  be 
present  with  him,  failed  to  reach*^  Hagerstown  for 
the  regular  train  and  was  tendered  a  special  train 
to  Chambersburg.  A  remarkable  thing  manifest 
in  this  sickness,  as  also  in  later  seasons  of  sick- 
ness, was  the  overawing  influence  of  the  Bishop's 
i:)resence  upon  his  physicians  and  others  who 
came  near  him  in  ministering  to  him.  It  was  the 
mysterious  power  arising  from  gentleness,  self- 
control,  and  suffering.  He  received  the  best  care 
that  skilled  physicians  and  kind  friends  could 
render,  and  after  the  lapse  of  several  weeks  was 
sufficiently  recovered  to  return  home.  The  form 
of  his  disease  was  given  as  typhoid  pneumonia. 
Before  and  after  this  illness  he  was  subjected  to 
severe  attacks  due,  as  was  thought,  to  torpidity 
of  the  liver  and  indigestion,  but  the  real  nature  of 
which  was  not  known  till  near  the  time  of  his  death. 


LIFE    OF    OLOSSBRENNER.  229 

In  1879,  when  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  passing 
through  Chambersburg  on  his  way  to  Virginia 
Conference,  the  car  in^which  he  was  riding  sud- 
denly left  the  track,  fell  over  an  embankment,  and 
turned  upon  its  side.  He  was  sitting,  in  company 
with  Rev.  M.  Bulger,  near  the  stove,  and  as  a 
result  of  the  accident  was  somewhat  burned  and 
otherwise  injured.  He  was  kindly  cared  for  at 
the  home  of  Mr .  A.  H.  Rice,  and  was  soon  able 
to  resume  his  journey.  As  a  result  of  the  accident 
his  clothes  were  considerably  injured.  The  rail- 
way authorities  directed  him  to  send  for  a 
merchant  tailor  and  have  his  injured  suit  replaced 
by  an  entirely  new  one  at  the  company's  expense. 
When  his  measure  was  being  taken,  he  noticed 
that  the  tailor  was  taking  measurements  for  his 
vest.  He  said,  "  My  vest  was  not  injured.  I  can 
only  receive  in  the  place  of  what  was  actually 
spoiled."  With  all  of  his  traveling  by  public 
conveyance,  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  with 
the  exception  here  given,  he  was  spared  all 
serious  accident. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  regard  for  the  laws 
which  as  bishop  he  was  to  administer,  is  indica- 
ted by  a  single  example.  At  the  session  of  the 
Muskingum  Conference  immediately  after  the 
drastic  measures  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1877,  a  motion    was    made    nullifying    tlie    law 


230  LIFE    OF    GLO.SSHKENNER, 

of  the  Church  respecting  secret  societies. 
Bishop  Glossbreniier  refused  to  entertain  the 
motion,  and  being  overruled,  left  the  chair. 
Though  the  motion  was  put  and  carried,  he 
insisted  that  it  should  not  he  recorded  as  a  part 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  conference. 

A  consummation  in  which  he  took  great  satis- 
faction was  the  completion  and  dedication  in  1878 
of  a  handsome,  commodious,  and  well-furnished 
church  to  take  the  place  of  the  little  antiquated 
United  Brethren  Church  at  his  home  at  Churcii- 
ville.  To  this  enterprise  he  contributed  personally 
over  five  hundred  dollars,  and  aided  otherwise  by 
his  influence  and  counsels. 

In  March,  1881,  he  published  a  masterly  article 
in  the  Religious  Telescope  on  lay  representation. 
The  article  occupied  seven  full  columns  and  was 
a  comprehensive  and  thorough  presentation  of 
the  argument  in  favor  of  lay  representation.  No 
article  more  scholarly  or  exhibiting  more  of  per- 
sonal conviction  was  ever  given  by  him  to  the 
press.  In  the  first  part  of  the  article  he  adduced 
scripture  examples,  such  as  the  choosing  of  an 
apostle  to  take  the  place  of  Judas,  the  choosing 
of  the  seven  deacons,  and  the  example  of  the 
apostolic  conference.  In  the  second  part  he  con- 
sidered the  subject  in  the  light  of  the  history  of 
the  Christian  church. 


LIFE    OF    QLOSSBRENNER.  281 

In  May,  1881,  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  at  the 
request  of  Dr.  L.  Davis,  preached  the  baccalau- 
reate sermon  before  the  students  of  Union 
Biblical  Seminary,  preaching  an  excellent  sermon 
on  the  call,  qualifications,  and  rewards  of  the  gos- 
pel minister.  On  another  commencement  occasion 
of  the  Seminary,  he  preached  the  annual  sermon 
on  Sabbath  evening.  At  yet  another  time  he 
delivered  the  diplomas  to  the  graduating  class  of 
the  Seminary,  his  presentation  words  to  each 
member  of  the  class,  and  his  address  finally  to  all, 
being  made  up  almost  wholly  of  passages  from 
the  Scriptures,  happily  selected  and  charmingly 
and  impressively  given.  Never  did  the  words  of 
scripture  appear  more  fitting,  or  the  Bishop's  skill 
m  quotation  appear  to  better  advantage. 


CHAPTER  X. 

General  Conference  of  i8Sr — Pro  Rata  Representation — 
Ohio  District — First  Round — Taken  Sick— Dedication 
at  Dayton — Second  and  Third  Rounds — Missionary 
Sermon — lyebanon  Valley  Baccalaureate — Last  Round 
— Sickness — Opposition  at  North  Ohio — Faithfulness 
as  Bishop — Change  in  Sentiments — Golden  Wedding 
— His  Family  —  Congratulations — Death  of  Mother 
Shuey — Sickness  and  Death  of  Mrs.  Glossbrenner — 
Bereaved  but  Still  Battling. 

The  eighteenth  General  Conference  convened 
at  Lisbon,  Iowa,  May  12,  1881.  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner read  an  extended  address  from  the  board 
of  bishops.  The  membership  reported  was  159,- 
367,  an  increase  during  the  quadrennium  of 
14,486.  The  increase  was  by  no  means  what  it 
should  have  been.  Distracting  differences  in  the 
Church  on  polity  and  discipline  account  in  part 
for  the  slender  gains,  but  other  causes  were 
equally  potent.  The  majority  in  the  conference 
were  still  in  favor  of  strenuous  anti-secrecy  legis- 
lation, but  the  conference  was  so  equally  divided 
and  the  opposition  was  so  iirm,  that  both  sides 
were  contented  to  leave  the  question  where  they 
found  it.  Those  who  sought  a  modification  of 
the   law   of  the    Church,   however,   became    en- 

232 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  233 

couraged  and  elated,  tlu'ongli  various  acts  of  the 
conference  bearing*  more  or  less  directly  on  the 
law  on  secrecy. 

Pro  7^ata  representation  in  the  General  Confer- 
ence was  favorably  acted  npon;  so  that  the 
annual  conferences  were  alloAved  from  two  to 
four  delegates  each  according  to  numbers.  Since 
1841  each  conference,  whether  large  or  small,  had 
had  three  delegates.  The  conference  of  1841  was 
constituted  on  the  j^^o  rata  basis.  The  conference 
of  1837  was  made  up  of  two  delegates  from  each 
annual  conference.  Before  that  time  conferences 
were  divided  into  sub-districts,  each  of  which 
elected  two  delegates. 

Throughout  the  session  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
presided  in  his  turn.  He  made  no  extended 
speeches,  but  his  rulings  while  in  the  chair,  and 
his  suggestions  when  not  in  the  chair,  were  clear 
and  calculated  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  con- 
ference. The  first  Sabbath  he  preached  in  his 
inimitable  way  from  Isaiah  32:20 — "Blessed  are 
ye  that  sow  beside  all  waters."  After  the  services 
Bishop  Weaver  said  to  lym,  "  I  consider  that  the 
master  sermon  of  your  life."  The  second  Sabbath 
he  preached  at  Toledo,  Iowa.  He  was  re-elected 
bishop  by  a  large  vote,  and  placed  on  the  Ohio 
district.  His  colleagues  were  Bishops  Weaver, 
Dickson,  and  Castle  of  the  old  board,  and  E.  B. 


234  LIFE    OF    CiJ.USSliKliNNER. 

Kephart,  of  Iowa  Confereuce,  who  for  thirteen 
years  liad  ably  served  as  the  president  of  "Western 
College.  During  the  qiuidrennium  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  continued  to  reside  at  his  old  home  at 
Church ville,  Virginia. 

After  presiding  two  terms  over  other  districts, 
it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  him  to  return  to  the 
Ohio  district.  The  district  included  Miami, 
Auglaize,  JSTorth  Ohio,  Sandusky,  Central  Ohio, 
Ohio  German,  Scioto,  Western  Reserve,  Ontario, 
and  Kentucky  conferences.  With  a  single  excep- 
tion hereafter  referred  to,  his  welcome  to  the 
district  was  most  cordial.  Auglaize  Conference 
at  its  first  session  after  the  General  Conference, 
declared  as  follows:  "We  as  a  conference  wel- 
come our  venerable  bishop,  J.  J.  Glossbrenner,  to 
our  midst  and  are  satisfied  with  the  able  and 
impartial  manner  in  which  he  has  presided  over 
us."  Sandusky  Conference  expressed  itself  as 
follows:  '■'•Resolved,  That  we  hail  with  exquisite 
delight  the  return  of  J.  J.  Glossbrenner  as  the 
presiding  bishop  over  this  district."  He  attended 
all  of  his  conferences  in  the  fall  of  1881,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Western  Reserve  and  the  Scioto. 
After  presiding  a  half  day  at  the  former  he  was 
taken  sick  and  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  work 
and  return  to  his  home.  Dr.  L.  Davis  presided 
for  liim  at  Scioto  Conference.     After  a  sickness 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  235 

of  two  or  three  months  he  was  again  able  to  re- 
sume preaching.  He  assisted  Bishop  Dickson  in 
presiding  at  the  ensuing  session  of  Virginia  Con- 
ference, and  at  the  joint  session  of  Pennsylvania 
and  East  Pennsylvania  conferences.  Pennsyl- 
vania and  East  Pennsylvania  conferences,  which 
had  been  united  by  the  General  Conference,  met 
this  year  in  Harrisburg  in  joint  session.  The  con- 
ference sermon  was  preached  by  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  on  Wednesday  evening,  at  the  opening 
of  the  session.  On  Sabbath  morning  he  preached 
in  Zion  Lutheran  Church. 

April  30,  1882,  he  dedicated  Summit  Street 
United  Brethren  Church  at  Dayton,  Ohio.  He 
preached  characteristically  from  Matthew  16:18. 
One  who  had  heard  him  often  in  the  years  gone 
by,  wrote :  "  He  brought  from  the  treasury 
things  new  and  old.  He  touched  all  points 
within  good  range  of  his  theme.  The  universal 
verdict  was  that  a  burning  message  had  indeed 
come  from  God.  His  voice  was  clear  and  musical 
as  when  we  first  heard  him  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury ago.  For  nearly  an  hour  and  a  half  the  vast 
audience  waited  upon  his  words  with  the  most 
profound  interest  and  attention.  His  entire  dis- 
course was  characterized  with  strength  and 
pathos,  and  telling  effect.  .  .  .  He  seemed  to 
be  inspired  with  new  vigor.     It  is  doubtful  if  he 


236  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

has  preached  so  grandly  for  years.  Oh !  what  a 
man  to  preach  Jesus  and  his  gospel,  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  is."  This  dedication  occurred  on  the 
Sabbath  of  the  commencement  week  of  Union 
Biblical  Seminary.  The  following  Wednesday 
after  an  address  by  Dr.  II.  A.  Thompson,  the 
seminary  building  was,  by  Bishop  Glossbrenner, 
formally  dedicated  to  God. 

This  year  Bishop  Glossbrenner  attended  Onta- 
rio Conference  and  all  of  his  Ohio  conferences. 
On  coming  to  Dayton  to  be  present  at  the  session 
of  Miami  Conference,  he  arrived  in  time  to  bo 
present  at  the  funeral  of  ex-Bishop  Heiiry 
Kumler,  jr.  They  had  served  together  in  the 
bishop's  office.  They  had  not  always  seen  alike 
or  been  able  to  act  in  accord,  but  they  knew  how 
to  esteem  each  other  and  be  friends.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  made  some  affecting  remarks.  He 
closed  with  the  words,  "  Goodbye,  Uncle  Henry, 
we  shall  meet  again  in  the  morning."  .  At  the 
session  of  Miami  Conference  he  was  quite  feeble. 
At  his  request  Dr.  L.  Davis  preached  the  confer- 
ence sermon  on  Sabbath  morning,  preaching  a 
very  appropriate  and  impressive  sermon. 

In  December  he  left  his  home  in  Virginia  to 
till  engagements  in  preaching  and  dedicating 
churches  in  Michigan  and  Ohio.  After  reaching 
the  place  of  his  first  appointment,  he  became  so 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  237 

indisposed  that  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  all 
of  his  engagements.  He  first  came  to  Dayton, 
Ohio,  from  which  place  he  was  accompanied  by 
Rev.  J.  K.  Billheimer  as  he  proceeded  to  his 
home.  In  1883  he  attended  all  of  his  Ohio 
conferences  along  with  Ontario  Conference. 

In  May,  1884,  he  attended  the  session  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  and  on  Sabbath  delivered  a 
specially  prepared  sermon  on  missions. 

In  June  by  invitation  he  preached  the  bacca- 
laureate sermon  before  the  students  of  Lebanon 
Valley  College.  He  spoke  from  Titus  2:6: 
"  Young  men  likewise  exhort  to  be  sober 
minded."  The  sermon  abounded  in  wise  counsels 
and  fervid  incentives  to  a  pure  and  useful  life. 
At  this  commencement  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  was  conferred  on  him  a  second  time. 
He  neither  accepted  nor  declined  the  honor,  but 
left  the  matter  "  with  the  college,  the  Church, 
and  the  Lord."  His  grandson,  Wallace  Hanger, 
was  one  of  the  graduating  class  of  this  year.  The 
Bishop  took  much  interest  in  the  education  of 
his  grandsons.  He  had  hoped  that  some  of  them 
would  enter  the  ministry,  and  in  such  a  case  he 
stood  ready  to  assist  them  in  taking  a  course  in 
Union  Biblical  Seminary.  He  had  given  his 
daughters  good  educational  advantages,  one  of 
them    having    studied   two    years   at   Otterbein 


238  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

University,  another  having  been  a  student  at 
Cottage  Hill  College,  and  the  others  having  at- 
tended other  institutions. 

In  August,  1884,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  began 
his  last  round  on  his  district  for  the  current  term. 
He  was  in  fairly  good  health.  His  first  confer- 
ence was  the  Miami.  Here  he  had  great  pleasure 
in  meeting  with  the  brethren,  and  had  great  free-, 
dom  in  preaching.  He  reached  the  place  of 
holding  the  next  conference,  the  North  Ohio,  in 
feeble  condition.  He  was  not  able  to  be  present 
at  all  the  first  day,  and  only  able  to  be  present 
for  short  periods  afterward.  On  Saturday,  in 
view  of  the  seriousness  of  the  attack  which  he 
felt  coming  on,  he  started  for  his  home.  Revs. 
W.  J.  Shuey,  J.  W.  Hott,  D.  K.  Flickinger,  and 
B.  Fritz  each  filled  his  place  at  one  or  more  con- 
ferences. At  Scioto  Conference  Dr.  L.  Davis,  in 
speaking  on  a  resolution  of  sympathy  for  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  in  his  affliction,  spoke  as  follows: 

"I  have  been  in  the  ministry  and  Scioto  Con- 
ference forty-six  j^ears;  but  the  Bishop  is  a  little 
older  in  years  and  also  is  my  senior  in  the 
ministry.  .  .  .  He  seems  to  be  passing  away 
from  us,  and  this  reminds  me  that  my  departure 
cannot  be  distant.  I  have  always  regarded 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  not  only  as  a  man  of  great 
powers  as  a  preacher  of  Christ  but   as  a  model 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  239 

bishop.  From  every  consideration  this  handling 
of  the  name  of  our  bishop  is  tender  to  me,  even 
as  he  himself  comes  very  near  to  my  heart." 

The  exception  before  referred  to,  as  to  the 
general  cordiality  with  which  Bishop  Glossbren- 
ner  was  received  by  the  Ohio  district,  was  with 
Korth  Ohio  Conference.  Here  prior  to  the  first 
session  of  the  conference,  after  the  General  Con- 
ference, a  determined  eflbrt  was  made  through 
the  distribution  of  circulars,  and  the  use  of  various 
means  to  effect  a  combination,  to  prevent  his  pre- 
siding. In  the  first  session  the  conference  refused 
to  pass  his  ofi^icial  character,  and  in  manifold  ways 
indicated  their  displeasure  at  his  presence  among 
them.  His  presiding,  however,  was  not  directly 
resisted.  At  the  next  session  his  character  was 
allowed  to  pass,  though  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave 
the  tension  unrelieved.  At  the  third  session  most 
bitter  and  obstinate  opposition  was  ofit'ered.  Had 
not  various  considerations  come  in  to  modify  the 
course  fully  resolved  upon,  the  desperate  counsel 
of  excluding  him  from  the  chair  would  have  been 
followed.  As  far  as  he  was  concerned  he  would 
have  gladly  left  the  conference  to  its  own  way, 
but  duty  urged  him  to  remain  at  his  post,  and  to 
this  course  he  was  advised  by  his  friends.  It  is 
due  to  say  that  not  all  in  the  conference  approved 
of  the  extreme  course  proposed. 


240  LIFE    OF    (JLOSSBRENNER. 

What  had  Bishop  Glossbrenner  done  to  deserve 
this  treatment?  If  his  course  had  long  been 
culpable,  why  was  this  treatment  reserved  to  be 
visited  upon  him  at  this  late  day;  and  if  there 
was  aught  to  charge  against  his  recent  adminis- 
tration, why  was  he  not  confronted  with  specific 
charges?  If  his  wliole  course  was  deserving  of 
censure,  wh}-  did  the  General  Conference  continue 
to  elect  him  bishop,  and  why  did  not  other  annual 
conferences  discover  his  unfaithfulness?  The 
answer  is  not  difficult  to  find.  At  the  Lisbon 
General  Conference,  those  who  were  in  favor  of 
existing  legislation  on  secret  societies  felt  that 
the  majority  on  which  they  had  long  beeii  relying 
would  soon  pass  into  the  minority.  At  least, 
they  believed  that  this  would  be  the  case  unless 
something  unusual  should  be  done  to  stay  the 
tide.  A  less  extreme  class  thought  that  this 
could  be  done  through  the  circulation  of  papers 
and  addresses,  and  this  course  was  resolved  upon. 
Others  were  not  satisfied  with  this.  Some  of  the 
members  of  jSTorth  Ohio  Conference  held  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  responsible  for  the  change  of 'senti- 
ment that  had  been  going  on  in  the  Church,  or  at 
least  thought  that  he  might  have  found  methods 
to  resist  the  course  that. things  had  taken.  No 
specific  charges  could  be  framed,  because  there 
were  no  offences  to  adduce.    Bishop  Glossbrenner 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  241 

euforced,  on  this  and  every  other  subject,  the 
legishition  laid  down  by  the  General  Conference 
as  strictly  as  any  one  that  ever  held  the  office  of 
bishop  in  the  United  Brethren  Church.  He  did 
not  make  law  of  his  own,  thereby  taking  the 
place  of  the  General  Conterence;  and  in  executing 
law  he  did  not  invade  the  prerogative  of  the 
annual  conferetice,  thereb}'  subverting  the  polity 
of  the  Church.  Bishops  in  the  United  Brethren 
Church  have  little  episcopal  power.  Dr.  L.  Davis 
has  said  that  when  he  was  bishop,  about  the  only 
power  that  he  found  himself  to  possess  was  the 
power  to  appoint  a  presiding  elder,  in  case  of  a 
vacancy.  If  a  bishop  should  choose,  however,  he 
could  head  a  party,  introduce  division,  and  in 
particular  instances  might  carry  out  his  will. 
One  of  the  earlier  bishops  once  said  of  himself 
that  when  he  was  very  anxious  for  the  success  of 
a  measure,  he  made  a  strong  speech  just  at  the  last 
and  then  put  the  question  before  sitting  down. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  early  and  sincerely 
opposed  to  secret  societies,  and  from  this  position 
he  never  changed.  At  one  time  he  declared  with 
evident  feeling  that  if  persons  were  not  satisfied 
with  the  Church  on  this  principle  of  opposition 
to  secrecy,  they  should  go  elsewhere.  He  himself 
also,  at  an  early  day,  held  the  favorite  radical 
opinion  that  the  preachers  were  chargeable  with 


242  LIFE   OP    GLOSSBRKNXER. 

misleading  the  people,  or  at  least  with  censurable 
weakness  in  yielding  to  temptation  to  increase 
unlawfully  their  membership.  Nine  tenths  of 
those  who  were  now  on  the  liberal  side  and  had 
held  membership  in  the  Church  for  twentj'-five 
years,  stood  at  the  first  where  he  had  stood. 
They  came  to  see  that  the  difficulty  was  in  the 
nature  of  the  case,  and  the  nature  of  external 
force  and  the  mechanical  action  of  law  as  a 
remedy.  Those  who  have  lived  and  -wrought  and 
suffered  in  the  field  where  the  difficulties  have 
been  greatest,  those  who  have  had  no  other  desire 
than  to  see  the  kingdom  of  Christ  promoted, 
those  who  have  had  a  stake  in  the  future  of  the 
Church,  in  a  special  way  those  who  have  had 
children  growing  up  in  the  fold  of  the  Church 
and  entering  with  hope  the  work  of  the  Church 
— very  many  of  these  have  seen  that  a  change  of 
method  would  be  necessary  if  the  Church  was  not 
to  relinquish  its  mission.  The  ministers  have 
not  led  in  bringing  about  this  change  of  view, 
nor  have  they  been  ready  and  unquestioning 
followers. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  slowly  yet  clearly  came  to 
sec  that  some  change  of  method  would  be  neces- 
sary. In  his  own  personal  convictions  and  by  the 
character  of  his  preaching  he  stood  committed  to 
the  simple  power  of  the  gospel  as  the  regenerat- 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  243 

ing  and  conserving  power  on  which  the  work  and 
purity  of  the  Church  depended.  Yet  he  trusted 
that  the  w^hole  Church  in  a  regular  way  would 
suit  itself  to  changed  conditions  and  manifest  de- 
mands. He  w^as,  too,  far  from  anticipating 
legislation  that  he  might  have  reason  to  believe 
would  soon  be  granted.  It  could  easily  be  shown 
as  a  fact  that  liberal  sentiment  grew  more 
rapidly  under  the  administration  of  bishops 
reputed  as  radicals  than  under  his  administration. 
That  his  sentiments  on  some  features  included 
gradually  underwent  a  change  has  already  been 
stated.  The  right  to  thus  change,  and  the  right,  if 
he  so  chose,  to  seek  a  change  in  the  law  of  the 
Church,  will  not  be  disputed  by  any  fair-minded 
man.  His  course  may,  with  great  justice  and  ad- 
vantage, be  regarded  in  the  light  of  the  following 
description  by  ex-President  Porter  of  a  conscien- 
tious man :  "  The  truly  conscientious  man  will 
always  hear  reasons  and  give  reasons  in  reference 
to  his  beliefs  and  his  actions.  He  is  always  ready 
to  revise  his  opinions  on  the  semblance  of  a  reason. 
He  is  never  afraid  to  consider  a  new  truth,  or  to 
view  an  old  truth  in  a  new  light,  but  seeks  illu- 
mination from  every  quarter.  The  willfully  blind, 
the  doggedly  obstinate,  the  passionately  intoler- 
ant, the  mulishly  persistent  in  respect  to  those 
opinions    of    duty   which   they   have  blindly  in- 


244  LIFE    OF    GLU.S.SBKENXER. 

heritcd  or  adopted  as  partisans,  are  greatly 
deficient  in  the  characteristic  signs  of  a  conscien- 
tious spirit." 

No  other  conclusion  is  possible  than  that  the 
gloom  and  disappointment  resulting  from  the 
prospective  failure  permanently  to  maintain  the 
old  methods,  lay  at  the  basis  of  the  treatment  that 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  received.  He  was  too  gentle, 
noble,  and  restrained  to  reply  in  kind  to  the 
severe  accusations  that  were  indulged  in  against 
him.  Ko  one  ever  heard  from  his  lips  or  saw 
from  his  pen  a  harsh  or  uncharitable  word  in 
regard  to  those  who  literally  wearied  themselves 
to  cause  him  pain. 

AYe  now  turn  to  events  connected  with  the 
home  life  of  Bishop  Glossbrenner.  February  14, 
1883,  was  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  married 
life.  It  was  resolved  by  his  family  and  friends 
that  the  reaching  of  the  golden  milestone  in  the 
married  life  of  Bishop  and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner 
should  be  appropriately  celebrated. 

A  brief  notice  of  the  immediate  family  of  the 
Bishop  will  enable  us  better  to  appreciate  the 
happiness  of  this  joyous  occasion.  Out  of  a 
family  of  six  children,  one  died  in  infancy,  and 
five,  all  daughters,  grew  up  to  adult  life.  The 
oldest  daughter,  who  was  married  to  Rev.  D.  K. 
Flickinger,    D.    D.,   died  in    the  brightness    of 


LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  245 

young  life.  The  next  oldest  was  married  to  Rev. 
W.  B.  Yonce,  D.  D.  She  died  early  leaving  two 
children.  Cornelia  D.,  the  oldest  of  the  three  liv- 
ing daughters,  was  married  to  Mr.  H.  H.  Hanger, 
at  present  a  merchant  at  Churchville.  Jose- 
phine, the  next  oldest,  was  married  to  Rev.  J.  II. 
Turner,  principal  of  the  Lutheran  Female  Semi- 
nar}', at  Lutherville,  Maryland.  Henrietta  C, 
the  youngest,  was  married  to  Rev.  L.  A.  Fox, 
D.  D.,  a  professor  in  Roanoke  College.  Mr. 
Hanger  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  Revs.  Yonce,  Turner,  and  Fox  are  all 
ministers  in  tlie  Lutheran  Church,  all  of  them 
scholarly  and  able  men,  and  all  engaged  in  the 
work  of  instruction.  The  marriage  of  the  Bish- 
op's daughters  to  these  ministers  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  outside  of  a  destiny  that  is  credited  with 
shaping  these  relations,  is  to  be  set  down  to  their 
visiting  at  Salem,  Virginia,  at  which  place  Roan- 
oke College  of  the  Lutheran  Church  is  located. 
Two  of  them  attended  for  a  while  a  female  semi- 
nary there,  having  their  home  meanwhile  with 
an  aunt.  Late  in  the  Bishop's  life.  Rev.  J.  Davis, 
D.  D.,  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  an  early  and  firm 
friend  of  the  Bishop,  jocosely  asked  him  why  he 
could  not  come  over  into  the  Lutheran  Church, 
where  he  could  have  a  pleasant  settlement  as 
pastor,  and  would  not  have  so  much  of  travel 


246  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

and  hardship  to  endure.  The  Bishop  replied  in  a 
similar  vein,  "Xever!  Yon  Lutherans  have  kid- 
naped my  children,  and  now  you  want  to  kidnap 
me.  -  If  I  get  out  of  the  United  Brethren  Church 
I  will  try  all  of  the  rest  first." 

Surrounded  by  their  children  and  grand-chil- 
dren, along  with  kind  friends  and  esteemed  neigh- 
bors, Bishop  and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner,  in  surveying- 
past  mercies  and  present  blessings,  had  every 
reason  for  devout  joy  and  gratitude.  At  Church- 
ville,  almost  all  of  their  married  life  had  been 
spent.  Here  for  four  or  five  years  they  had  been 
living  in  a  comfortable  and  beautiful  dwelling, 
planned  and  fitted  up  by  themselves,  as  the  place 
where  they  would  spend  their  closing  days.  In 
this  pleasant  home  they  now  welcomed  their 
guests.  The  aged  mother  of  Mrs.  Glossbrenner 
was  still  living  near  Churchville,  but  was  too  fee- 
ble to  be  present.  A  few  quotations  will  now  be 
given  from  letters  and  addresses.  Professor 
Turner  addressed  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  in 
the  following  beautiful  words : 

How  much  of  sorrow  and  joy  in  fifty  j^ears  !  What 
have  these  fifty  years  been?  History  has  not  written 
down  all  these  events.  These  fift}^  years  of  your  life 
have  been  important  years  to  the  world,  and  to  the 
church  especially.  There  were  few  missionaries  then; 
now  everywhere  the  Christian  religion  is  preached.  And 
now  to  you,  my  dear  father  and  mother,  may  there  be 


LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  247 

added  to  your  history  many  years.  Fifty  years  ago  jour 
bridal  tour  was  not  in  a  palace  car.  No  words  of  sjmi- 
pathy  whispered  then  over  wires  to  friends  hundreds  of 
miles  away.  Truly,  these  have  been  fifty  years  full  of 
events.  What  of  the  next  fifty  years  ?  No  couple  cele- 
brates the  close  of  the  second  fifty  years  in  this  world. 
Fifty  years  from  now  will  find  us  enjo3-ing  other  scenes. 
I\Iay  God  give  you  many  returns  of  j^our  marriage  day, 
and  may  we  all  meet  at  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb. 

Bishop  Glossbreiiner  made  an  appropriate 
and  affecting  address,  speaking  in  substance  as 
follows : 

A  number  of  our  relatives  and  acquaintances  are  not 
here.  We  give  you  a  cordial  welcome.  This  is  an 
important  occasion  to  some  of  us.  Marriage  is  a  solemn 
contract.  It  cannot  easily  be  broken.  I  have  been  mar- 
ried four  times  in  my  life.  All  to  which  I  have  been 
married  are  alive. 

My  first  solemn  covenant  was  when  I  embraced  Christ. 
Then  I  consented  to  live  for  Him  and  to  die  for  Him. 
From  Him  I  have  not  been  separated.  At  eighteen  I 
embraced  religion,  and  have  no  cause  to  regret  it. 

The  second  covenant  was,  when  I  became  a  member  of 
the  church.  It  is  somewhere  found  in  the  Scriptures, 
As  a  young  man  marrieth  a  virgin  so  shall  thy  sons 
marry  thee.  I  have  not  felt  like  leaving  the  church. 
The  church  has  been  faithful  to  me.  It  is  better  to  hold 
on  to  this  covenant.  These  covenants  were  entered  into 
when  I  was  young. 

The  third  marriage  was  when  I  took  the  vows  of  a 
Christian  minister — when  I  consecrated  myself  to  Christ 
fully.     The    church   has    branches.     I   joined  with  the 


248  LIFE    OF    GLOS^BKK^NEll. 

United  Brethren  in  Christ  as  a  minister.  The  Chnrch 
was  then  small.  It  was  then  weak.  The  Church  has 
treated  me  well.  In  the  church  let  me  live;  in  the 
church  let  me  labor;  in  the  church  let  me  suffer,  if  need 
be;  in  the  church  let  me  die,  and  stand  at  last  with  the 
white-robed  throng  of  the  church  triumphant.  Some 
hardships  I  have  passed  through,  but  not  alone  ;  my 
wife,  my  true  and  faithful  companion,  endured  them 
with  me.  The  cares  of  my  family  in  the  earlier  years  of 
my  ministry  rested  on  my  wife.  A  good  wife  is  a  bless- 
ing of  God.  She  never  said  locate.  My  salary  at  first 
was  eighty  dollars,  afterward,  when  married,  it  was  for 
some  years  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars.  Now  we  are 
monuments  of  grace  and  mere}'. 

The  Church  has  grown.  Our  work  has  not  been  in 
vain.  Our  church  then  numbered  20,000  members; 
now  it  has  160,000  members.  But  we  can  see  results 
specially  satisfactory  in  Virginia  Conference.  Then  it 
embraced  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  and  Maryland — fift}'- 
two  years  ago,  when  I  joined  it.  In  these  bounds  four 
and  a  half  meeting-houses  only  were  ours.  Now  we  have 
two  hundred  and  nine  churches.  I  do  not  regret  that  I 
am  wedded  to  this  church.  We  all  should  be  thus 
wedded,  and  then  be  steadfast. 

The  fourth  union  was  the  marriage  the  anniversary 
of  which  we  to-day  celebrate.  It  has  not  been  broken 
these  fifty  years.  These  years  have  been  spent  in  love  and 
confidence.  There  are  not  many  so  favored.  I  can  only 
say,  "The  Lord  is  good;  his  mercy  endureth  forever." 

While  the  Bishop  spoke,  Mrs,  Glossbreniier  Siit 
near  and  coukl  not  restrain  the  tears  which  the 
crowding  memories  of  past  years  forced  from  her 
eyes. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  249 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  Bishop  by  a  layman  of  a  sister  church  at 
Harrisburg,  Penusylvania: 

How  glad  I  would  be  to  take  you  and  your  good  wife 
by  the  hands,  look  into  your  eyes,  and  give  you  my 
hearty  and  affectionate  congratulations,  but  distance  and 
the  condition  of  my  health  forbid  it.  During  the  past 
autumn  I  was  confined  to  my  room  six  weeks,  and  have 
only  been  once  out  of  the  city  since.  It  is  just  about 
four  years  since  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  you.  Dur- 
ing that  time  I  have  heard  you  preach  five  times.  The 
subjects  and  manner  of  presenting  them  are  so  deeply  im- 
pressed on  my  mind,  so  vividly  before  me,  that  I  recall 
them  in  their  order  :  "  He  is  not  here  ;  for  he  is  risen." 
' '  Say  unto  my  soul,  I  am  thy  salvation. ' '  ' '  Solomon,  my 
son,  know  thou  the  God  of  thy  fathers,"  etc.  "Blessed 
are  ye  that  sow  beside  all  waters."  "  Giving  thanks 
unto  the  Father  which  hath  made  us  meet  to  be  partakers 
of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light."  The  last  you 
preached  in  ovxr  church,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  shone  around  j'ou,  and  the  King  in  his  beaut}^ 
was  there.  I  write  of  this  because  I  know  it  will  be 
grateful  for  an  old  soldier  of  the  cross  to  be  assured  that 
words  fallen  from  his  lips  have  been  a  benediction  to  an 
erring,  wayward  soul.  How  many  weary,  wretched 
wanderers  you  have  comforted  with  the  "  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ ' '  is  known  only  to  the  INIaster.  Doubt- 
less many,  like  the  writer,  who  onlj-  "see  men  as  trees 
walking,"  secretly  thank  you  for  clearer  conceptions  of 
the  King's  highway 

I  give  you  my  sincere  congratulations  that  your  life 
has  been  protracted,  and  pray  that  30U  may  yet  live  long 


250  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

to  hear  children's  children  call  you  blessed.  'May  every 
good  attend  3-011  so  long  as  j-ou  both  shall  live,  your  gold 
to  diamonds  turn,  and  then  a  peaceful,  painless  passage 
to  joys  immortal  and  full  of  glory. 

These  quotations  will  bo  concluded  with  tlie 
following  letter  from  Dr.  L.  Davis,  who  on  the 
evening  of  the  golden  wedding,  celebrated  at  his 
home  in  Dayton,  Oliio,  with  a  number  of  friends, 
the  entrance  upon  his  seventieth  year: 

Bishop  J.  J.  Glossbrenner: — My  Dear  Brother:  I 
cannot  refrain  from  expressing  my  regret  in  not  being 
able  to  be  with  you  at  your  "golden  wedding"  on  the 
14th  inst.  I  can  well  remember  the  first  time  we  met  in 
life's  journe}';  namely,  in  1841,  as  you  were  on  yoMX  way 
to  the  General  Conference  Avhich  met  near  Circleville, 
Ohio.  Since  that  time  we  have  often  met  in  almost 
every  relation  of  life  known  to  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
and  it  is  pleasant  to  know  that  our  personal  attachments 
are  strong  and  abiding.  It  adds  to  the  pleasure  to  be- 
lieve that  this  friendship  and  brother!}'  love  will  continue 
till  the  last.  You  are  my  senior  in  years  and  also  in 
the  ministry  but  a  little.  On  the  14th  of  this  month  the 
same  day  of  your  "golden  wedding,"  I  shall  enter  into 
my  seventieth  year.  So  with  us  the  time  to  pass  from 
labor  to  reward  is  near.  ]\Iany  of  those  who  started  in 
life  when  we  did  and  bravely  worked  for  the  INIaster  by 
our  side,  have  already  passed  over  the  river  of  Death  and 
are  now  safe  in  Heaven.  In  due  time  I  trust  we  shall 
join  them.  Meanwhile,  let  us  do  what  we  can  for  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  our  common  Zion.  Oh,  for  this 
let  us  live  and  .strive  to  the  last.     ]\Irs.  Davis  joins  me  in 


LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  251 

congratulating  you  and  Sister  Glossbrenner  on  this 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  your  married  life.  Peace  and  love 
to  you  and  yours.     Yours  truly,  lyEWis  Davis. 

When  remarks  were  concluded,  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner arose  and  led  in  singing,  "  Here  I'll  raise 
mine  Ebenezer,"  and  Rev.  C.  W.  Stinespring, 
the  pastor  at  Churchville,  led  in  prayer.  After- 
ward a  rich  repast  was  enjoyed.  It  is  needless  to 
add  that  many  congratulatory  letters  and  many 
valuable  and  appropriate  presents  were  received. 

This  hour  of  social  joy  had  scarcely  passed 
until  the  shadows  began  to  fall.  Within  a  little 
less  than  a  year  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Glossbrenner 
was  taken  to  her  eternal  rest.  Much  of  the  time 
the  Bishop  was  in  feeble  health,  and  Mrs.  Gloss- 
brenner, who  had  been  in  delicate  health  for 
several  years,  began  rapidly  to  fail.  When 
Bishop  Glossbrenner  returned  sick  from  North 
Ohio  Conference  on  his  last  round  for  the  quad- 
rennium,  his  coming  was  unexpected.  Such  was 
the  state  of  Mrs.  Glossbrenner's  health  that  the 
next  day,  had  he  not  arrived  just  when  he  did,  a 
dispatch  would  have  been  sent  calling  him  home. 
When  he  looked  upon  his  wife  and  she  looked 
upon  him,  they  could  not  express  themselves 
except  by  tears.  He  was  placed  in  one  room  and 
she  in  another  room,  with  simply  a  hall  between 
them.     She  was  able  to  cross   to   his  room  just 


252  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

twice,  and  after  that  he  was  able  to  cross  to  her 
room  once  or  twice  each  day  to  remain  a  short 
time.  Their  spirits  were  so  bound  to  each  other 
that  it  seemed  if  one  should  be  taken,  the  other 
could  not  be  restrained  from  going  also.  It  was 
uncertain  which  might  be  taken  first. 

At  length,  October  14,  1884,  Mrs.  Glossbrenner 
passed  into  the  life  beyond,  aged  sixty-seven 
years,  ten  months  and  sixteen  days.  The 
Bishop's  deep  sense  of  the  momentous  realities 
beyond,  and  their  dependence  on  a  state  of 
preparation  here,  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
two  days  before  the  departure  of  his  beloved 
companion,  he,  by  earnest  inquiries  and  sure 
encouragements,  sought  to  prepare  her  mind  for 
the  impending  change.  The  funeral  was  attended 
by  Rev.  J.  L.  Grimm,  who  had  been  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  deceased.  In  an  obituary 
sketch  he  said:  "She  was  a  quiet  and  unosten- 
tatious woman,  combining  a  cheerful  spirit,  a 
sound  discriminating  judgment,  an  independent 
and  refined  mind,  and  a  warm  heart."  She  had 
been  a  Christian  and  a  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church  from  the  age  of  fifteen.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  was  able  to  be  taken  to  the  church 
to  be  present  at  the  funeral  service,  but  was  too 
feeble  to  go  to  the  cemetery.  In  his  bereavement 
he  was  wonderfully  sustained    by  divine    grace. 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  253 

But  life  never  was,  never  could  be  to  bini  what 
it  was  before  this  saddest  of  all  earthly  losses. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hanger  at  once  occupied  his  house 
with  him,  and  he  had  all  of  the  tender  care  that 
it  was  possible  for  a  loving  daughter  to  bestow. 

By  degrees  he  began  to  improve,  and  came  to 
have  a  considerable  measure  of  strength.  The 
disease  with  which  he  was  struggling  was  largely 
local,  and  when  it  would  intermit  in  its  severity, 
his  heart  for  work  and  further  service  became 
strong  as  in  other  years.  This,  added  to  a  spirit 
next  to  unconquerable,  made  him  desire  to  be  in 
the  field,  even  when  his  best  friends,  those  who 
would  have  enjoyed  his  labors  most,  could  they 
have  been  bestowed  without  such  cost  and  risk  to 
himself,  would  have  preferred  that  he  spare  him- 
self from  all  taxing  exertion. 

In  the  spring  of  1885  he  resumed  his  preaching. 
He  attended  Ontario  Conference,  preached  the 
annual  sermon  before  the  students  of  Union 
Biblical  Seminary,  attended  the  session  of  the 
Board  of  Missions,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Conference  at  Fostoria,  Ohio,  seemed  to 
be  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  large  measure  of 
strength. 


CHAPTER  XT. 

Nineteenth  General  Conference  —  Bishops'  Address — 
Changed  Attitude  of  the  Church  —  The  Commission 
— Producing  Causes  —  Embarrassments  to  Progress — 
Emeritus  Bishop — Expressions  of  Esteem — Last  Ad- 
dress— Sermon — Immediate  EngagementvS — Session  of 
Church  Commission  —  Further  Work — Sickness  and 
Death — Nature  and  Significance  of  Life  and  Character 
— Personal  Characteristics  —  Secular  Side — Social  and 
Religious  Character  —  Character  as  a  Preacher — His 
Eminence  —  Character  as  a  Bishop  —  Qualities  as  a 
Presiding  OflScer — Influence  Immortal. 

The  niiieteentb  General  Coiifereiicc  assembled 
at  Fostoria,  Ohio,  May  14,  1885.  This  was  the 
last  General  Conference  that  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
would  be  permitted  to  attend.  Forty-eight  years 
before  he  attended  his  first  session  of  General 
Conference  as  a  delegate  from  Virginia  Confer- 
ence. !N'ot  one  who  was  a  delegate  with  him  at 
that  session  was  now  alive.  Hiestand,  Erb, 
Coons,  Hauby,  and  the  elder  Kumler  were 
honored  members  of  that  early  conference.  Rev. 
A.  Biddle  and  Rev.  Josiah  Davis  were  the  only 
living  ones  of  those  who  served  as  delegates  with 
him  in  1841.  The  only  survivors  among  his 
fellow-members    in   the    General   Conference  of 

254 


LIFE    OP    GLOSSBRENNER.  255 

1845,  at  which  time  he  was  first  elected  bishop, 
were  Rev.  Josiah  Davis,  at  present  a  minister  in 
the  Universalist  Church,  and  Rev.  John  Hoobler, 
who  was  in  attendance  as  a  visitor  at  the  session 
of  1885.  Rev.  J.  B.  Resler  and  Rev.  Daniel 
Shuck  were  the  only  delegates  in  the  General 
Conference  of  1885  who  had  served  as  delegates 
as  early  as  1853.  Thus  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
stood  as  the  remnant  of  an  earlier  generation. 
Russel,  Hanby,  Erb,  Edwards,  Markwood,  and 
the  younger  Kumler,  all  of  whom  had  served 
with  him  in  the  office  of  bishop,  were  gone  to 
their  long  home.  Among  those  present  as 
bishops,  Bishop  Weaver,  who  in  term  of  service 
ranked  next  to  him,  was  twenty  years  his  junior 
in  the  office  of  bishop.  The  Church,  which  in 
1845,  when  he  was  first  elected  bishop,  numbered 
30,000  members,  now  numbered  168,573  members. 
The  gain  for  the  quadrennium  just  closed  was 
10,861,  a  gain  relatively  quite  small.  By  the 
ohange  in  the  method  of  representation,  the 
number  of  delegates  elected  was  121,  instead  of 
141,  the  number  that  would  have  been  elected  at 
the  ratio  of  three  to  a  conference. 

Altogether,  the  session  of  General  Conference 
for  this  year  was  the  most  interesting  and  signifi- 
cant since  the  first  General  Conference  in  1815. 
Since  1849,  especially  since  1869,  there  had  been 


256  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

dissatisfaction  and  controversy  in  respect  to  the 
rigid  anti-secrecy  legislation  of  the  Church,  which 
legislation  was  required  by  the  article  of  the 
constitution  which  declared,  "  There  shall  be  no 
connection  with  secret  cond)inations."  The  op- 
position had  been  rapidly  gaining  ground  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  it  now  became  evident  that 
if  a  course  could  be  taken  that  should  be  decided, 
and  yet  not  violent,  the  great  majority  of  the 
Church  would  sustain  it.  The  bishops  in  their 
address,  which  was  read  by  Bishop  Glossbrenner, 
opened  the  whole  question  through  the  following 
recommendations : 

"1.  In  that  it  is  admitted  that  our  present  con- 
stitution has  not  been  as  yet  submitted  to  a  vote 
of  the  whole  society,  that  you  determine  whether 
the  whole  subject  under  consideration  is  or  is  not 
yet  in  the  hands  of  the  General  Conference. 

"  2.  Should  you  determine  that  it  is  yet  in  your 
hands,  then  transfer  the  whole  subject  from  the 
realm  of  constitutional  law  to  the  field  of  legisla- 
tive enactment.     .     .     . 

"  3.  That  you  limit  the  prohibitory  feature  of 
your  enactment  to  combinations,  secret  and  open, 
to  which  the  Church  believes  a  Christian  cannot 
belong. 

"  4.  Should  you  decide  that  this  constitutional 
question  is  beyond  your  control  and  in  the  hands 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  257 

of  the  whole  society,  then  submit  the  above  prop- 
ositions properly  formulated  to  a  vote  of  the 
whole  society,  and  let  a  two-thirds  vote  of  those 
voting  be  the  authoritative  voice  of  the  Church 
on  the  subject." 

While  the  address  was  not  prepared  by  Bishop 
Glossbrenner,  he  yet  indorsed  the  recommenda- 
tions contained.  As  early  as  1869  he  had  spoken 
in  favor  of  submitting  to  the  membership  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  touching  the  sub- 
ject of  secret  societies.  A  large  committee  was 
appointed  to  which  were  referred  the  constitu- 
tion, the  confession  of  faith,  and  the  law  on 
secrecy.  The  course  of  the  bishops  in  taking 
this  action  was  extraordinary  in  nothing  save 
that  it  was  a  departure  from  the  negative  course 
on  the  subject  that  at  this  time  was  expected  of 
them.  That  the  whole  subject  should  be  made  a 
matter  of  inquiry  should  have  been  surprising  to 
no  one.  If  more  thorough  and  comprehensive 
measures  were  contemplated,  it  was  because  pre- 
vious delays  and  refusals  to  satisfy  long-existing 
wants  had  deepened  and  consolidated  demands. 

The  committee  appointed  reported  in  favor  of 
the  recognition  of  the  constitution  as  binding 
under  its  own  article  regulating  changes.  This 
liberal  way  of  passing  by  defects  in  the  adoption 
of  the  constitution,  this  refusal  to  be  governed  by 

17 


258  LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

petty  technicality,  plainly  called  for  a  like  liberal 
spirit  in  interpreting  the  constitution,  particu- 
larly the  indefinite  article  in  regard  to  changes. 
The  committee  also  reported  in  favor  of  the 
appointment  of  a  commission  which  should  revise 
the  constitution  and  the  confession  of  faith,  and 
submit  the  same  as  amended  to  the  vote  of  the 
Church,  two  thirds  of  those  voting  to  be  sufficient 
for  approval.  Pending  the  adoption  of  this  report, 
the  most  able  debate  in  the  history  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conferences  thus  far,  took  place.  Both  sides 
displayed  ability,  knowledge  of  the  principles 
involved,  and  strength  of  conviction.  The  report 
was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  seventy-seven  to  fort}-- 
two.  Bishops  Glossbrenncr,  Weaver,  Castle  and 
Kephart  voting  in  the  affirmative.  Whatever  may 
be  said  of  the  steps  to  revise  the  confession  of 
faith  at  this  time,  there  certainly  seems  to  be  in 
the  course  pursued  as  to  the  constitution,  no  vio- 
lence to  the  recognized  constitution,  and  no  clash- 
ing with  the  general  usage  in  connection  with 
perplexed  and  emergent  times  and  conditions. 

The  same  committee  reported  a  law  on  secret 
societies,  excluding  members  of  all  secret  socie- 
ties "at  variance  with  the  word  of  God,"  and 
infringing  on  the  rights  of  those  without  their 
pale;  violations  to  be  dealt  with  as  in  other  cases 
of  disobedience  to  order  and  discipline.     After 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  259 

an  amendment  which  added  as  another  distin- 
guishing mark,  "injurious  to  Christian  char- 
acter," the  report  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of 
seventy-six  to  thirty-eight.  The  report  was 
proposed  by  members  of  the  committee  holding 
radical  anti-secrecy  views,  and  was  accepted  by 
the  full  committee  as  a  compromise  measure. 
On  the  vote  to  adopt  before  the  General  Confer- 
ence, members  divided  for  the  most  part  on  party 
lines.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  in  explaining  his 
vote  cast  on  the  affirmative  side,  said,  "It  is 
known  to  the  ministers  of  this  church,  east  and 
west,  north  and  south,  that  I  have  been  recog- 
nized as  a  modificationist  for  years,  although  I 
did  not  impose  my  views  on  those  with  whom 
I  associated."  That  anyone  who  voted  for  the 
law  was  entirely  pleased  with  it  is  very  doubtful. 

This  was  the  outcome  of  a  long  course  of 
effort  to  exclude  from  the  Church  all  members 
of  secret  societies.  The  rigorous  policy  had  had 
great  advantages  in  its  favor.  To  begin  with, 
it  had  almost  the  unanimous  sentiment  of  the 
Church  in  its  favor.  Then  it  became  embodied 
in  law  and  the  constitution  before  the  great  mul- 
titude of  secret  societies  arose.  It  had,  moreover, 
the  support  of  men  of  distinguished  ability  and 
firm  convictions,  who  in  fostering  sentiment,  in 
securing  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  law. 


260  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

and  in  applying  the  whips  of  party  discipline,  did 
all  that  was  possible  for  the  wisest  and  ablest 
leaders  to  do.  If  they  failed,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
it  was  because  they  contended  against  the  in- 
evitable. On  the  other  hand,  the  growth  of  the 
opposite  sentiment  in  the  minds  of  the  ministers, 
was  not  so  much  owing  to  a  conviction  that 
connection  with  all  or  any  secret  societies  was 
harmless,  as  to  the  fact  that  in  certain  circum- 
stances members  of  the  Church  were  easily  per- 
suaded that  they  might  innocently  form  such  a 
connection,  and  the  fact  that  serious  complica- 
tions were  the  result.  There  would  be  other 
members  to  whom  the  harm  would  not  be 
apparent.  When  ministers  viewed  particular 
cases,  and  then  considered  the  eflect  of  discipline 
on  their  charges,  they  hesitated  to  proceed 
against  offenders.  Others  zealous  for  the  law, 
would  succeed  them,  and  in  the  effort  to  carry 
out  discipline,  hundreds  of  congregations  were 
broken  up.  Thus  the  facility  of  getting  into 
difficulty  and  the  ruinous  cost  of  escaping  from 
the  difficulty  kept  every  prosperous  congregation 
in  the  Church,  especially  in  the  cities,  constantly 
on  the  eve  of  an  explosion.  Ministers  might 
themselves  have  firm  convictions  as  to  the  recti- 
tude of  the  law  of  the  Church,  but  the  difficulty 
was  that  the  law  could  not  commend  itself  to 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  261 

every  man's  conscience.  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  in 
the  light  of  unnumbered  disasters  to  the  most 
hopeful  congregations,  concluded  that  the  law 
that  made  such  occurrences  not  only  possible  but 
inevitable,  might  be  wisely  and  rightfully  mod- 
ified. 

Undoubtedly  the  .tendency  in  the  different 
Christian  denominations  is  to  insist  on  a  purer 
and  stricter  Christian  life.  But  there  is  also  a 
tendency,  inherent  in  Protestantism  itself,  in 
cases  in  which  applications  are  not  evident,  to 
use  every  moral  means  toward  creating  in  the 
individual  the  governing  power  of  nobler  sen- 
timents and  higher  character.  The  United 
Brethren  Church  receives  a  large  part  of  its 
increase  by  conversions  from  those  strangers  to 
its  history,  and  the  polity  of  the  Church  places 
the  rulership  with  the  membership  in  general. 
The  secret  of  security  is  therefore  in  true  con- 
version and  a  genuine  and  earnest  spiritual  life. 
The  denomination  that  would  justify  its  existence 
and  secure  the  surest  lease  on  the  future  will 
make  intense  evangelical  character  its  distin- 
guishing characteristic. 

Since  1865  the  consciousness  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church,  especially  as  regards  the  re- 
lation of  the  Church  to  God's  kingdom  in 
general,  had  been  more  or  less  disturbed.     Ear- 


262  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

lier  it  had  been  an  earnest  and  propelling 
conviction  that  the  older  denominations  failed 
largely  in  fnlfilling  the  purpose  of  the  church 
of  Christ,  and  in  view  of  this  dereliction  and 
perversion,  largely  in  the  direction  of  formalism, 
a  special  burden  was  laid  upon  the  United  Breth- 
ren as  a  people.  An  improvement  in  the  older 
churches  and  the  touching  upon  their  circle  at 
more  numerous  points,  as  also  a  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  denominations  differing  less 
widely  in  character,  along  with  the  gathering  of 
new  members  from  the  most  diverse  sources,  led 
to  indeliniteness  and  uncertainty  as  to  the  special 
mission  of  the  Church.  Also  the  turning  of  so 
much  attention  to  enterprises  to  be  built  up 
within  the  Church  had,  for  the  time,  as  regards 
some  features,  a  limiting  and  bewildering  effect. 
The  reduced  gains  of  the  Church  for  a  number  of 
years  prior  to  1885,  may  be  referred,  in  part,  to 
this  confused  consciousness,  as  it  has  been  termed, 
as  regards  the  mission  and  relations  of  the 
Church,  rather  than  exclusively  to  the  distrac- 
tions arising  from  the  secrecy  question.  The 
lowest  point  was  reached  in  1881,  when  there 
was  an  actual  loss  in  membership.  Since  that 
time  the  conditions  seem  to  have  changed  thor- 
oughly and  permanently  for  the  better.  The 
Church  of  the    United   Brethren  in    Christ   has 


LIFE    OF    GLUSSBKENMER.  263 

borne  the  suspense  of  these  general  conditions, 
and  has  sustained  the  strain  of  the  most  trying 
internal  conflict  as  perhaps  no  other  denomina- 
tion in  America  could  have  done.  In  all  of  this 
period,  the  conserving,  vitalizing,  and  guarding 
influence  of  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  as  helpful 
as  it  was  necessary.  He  kept  to  his  work  of 
preaching  the  gospel  as  the  sufiicient  and  only 
remedy  for  tke  evils  of  the  world,  and  as  the 
sufficient  and  only  security  of  the  church  of 
Christ.  In  calm  and  in  storm  he  urged  patience 
and  faithfulness,  the  things  which  were  not 
uncertain,  the  things  on  which  there  was  no 
division.  How  often  through  a  period  of  forty 
years,  at  the  close  of  conference  sessions,  annual 
and  general,  or  in  giving  a  solemn  charge  to 
ministers,  he  quoted  the  words  of  scripture,  and 
how  beautiful  and  fit  they  appeared  on  his  lips: 
"  ;N"ow  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  name  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  all  speak  the  same 
thing,  and  that  there  be  no  divisions  among  you; 
but  that  ye  be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the 
same  mind  and  in  the  same  judgment"  (I.  Corin- 
thians; 1:10);  and  again,  "  Let  us  walk  by  the 
same  rule,  let  us  mind  the  same  thing  "  (Philip- 
pians,  3: 16). 

Prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  General   Confer- 
ence, Bishop   Glossbrenner   had   felt  that   if  he 


264  LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER. 

could  finish  up  his  tenth  term  of  service  he  would 
do  well.  About  the  time  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, however,  his  health  had  improved  much 
beyond  his  own  expectations.  At  a  number  of 
places  where  he  preached,  his  friends  thought  that 
he  had  strength  for  another  term  of  service,  and 
thus  expressed  themselves  to  him.  They  thought 
that  he  preached  as  well  as  at  any  time  in  his  life, 
and  greatly  desired  that  his  services  should  be 
retained.  Influenced  by  these  views  and  by  the 
over-estimate  of  his  own  strength,  into  which  one 
of  his  temperament  is  so  liable  to  fall,  he 
unwisely,  as  events  soon  proved,  allowed  friends 
in  the  General  Conference  to  cast  their  votes  for 
his  re-election  for  a  new  term  of  service.  On 
taking  up  the  ballots  it-  appeared  that  he  received 
more  than  half  of  the  number  of  votes  necessary 
to  elect.  Thus  did  many  of  the  delegates  indicate 
their  esteem  for  him,  while  there  were  others  who 
meant  no  less  esteem  in  voting  for  younger  and 
more  vigorous  men. 

After  results  were  announced,  the  office  of 
emeritus  bishop  was  provided  for,  and  to  this 
honored  position  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was 
elected  by  a  rising  vote.  Rev.  J.  W.  Hott 
oifered  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions 
which  were  adopted  by  a  hearty  rising  vote: 

"  Whereas,    Bishop    J.    J,    Glossbrenner    has 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  265 

faithfully  served  the  Church  as  one  of  its  bishops 
for  forty  years;  and, 

"  Whereas,  During  the  past  quadrennium  he 
has  sulfered  much  in  personal  afSictiou  and  sore 
bereavement  which  befell  him  in  the  death  of 
Sister  Glossbrenner,  who  over  a  half  century  was 
his  faithful  companion  in  the  toils  of  the  Church 
in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Christ;  and, 

"  Whereas,  On  account  of  the  gathering  in- 
firmities of  years,  this  conference  has  relieved 
him  from  the  toils  formerly  demanded  of  him, 
and  has  given  him  the  relation  of  bishop  emer- 
itus; therefore, 

^'Resolved,  1.  That  Bishop  Glossbrenner  has  the 
united  confidence  and  affection  of  our  hearts,  and 
that  we  will  ever  remember  him  in  our  prayers. 

"  2.  That  while  we  have  exacted  no  duties  at 
his  hands,  we  will  warmly  and  cheerfully  wel- 
come him  to  our  conferences  in  any  duty  which 
he,  in  counsel  with  his  associates,  may  deem 
himself  able  to  perform." 

"  The  conference  was  carried  on  a  wave  of 
sympathy  and  love,"  as  led  by  Bishop  Weaver, 
almost,  if  not  quite  all  of  the  members  came  to 
the  platform  and  gave  to  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
the  hand  of  good  will  and  parting  salutation. 
Many  wept.  The  aged  Bishop  stood  meanwhile, 
his  entire  form  swaying  witli  emotion.    His  mind 


206  LIFE    OF    ULOSSBRENNER. 

going  back  to  the  time  wlien  Otterbeiu  clasped 
Boehm  in  his  arms  and  exclaimed,  "  We  are 
brethren,"  he  uttered  the  beautiful  words:  "We 
are  sons  of  Ottcrbein.  We  are  fellow-servants  of 
our  ascended  Lord.  We  are  brethren  in  the 
common  hope  of  the  life  to  come."  He  was  born 
the  year  before  Otterbein  died.  Putting  his  term 
as  bishop  with  the  terms  of  II.  Kuniler,  sen.,  and 
I^ewcomer,  a  complete  line  would  be  formed 
leading  back  to  the  founding  of  the  Church  and 
the  superintendency  of  Otterbein. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  session  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  addressed  the  conference  in  the  followinor 

O 

cheerful  and  encouraging  words: 

"Will  you  allow  me  just  about  two  minutes  ? 
I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  bishops  whom  3'ou 
have  just  elected  all  feel  good,  are  fully  satisfied, 
and  will  go  on  their  w^ay  rejoicing  to  their  fields 
of  labor.  But  I  doubt  whether  tliey  feel  much 
better  than  I  do.  I  feel  perfectly  happy  and 
perfectly  satisfied  with  what  you  have  done  in 
my  case,  and  especially  do  I  feel  grateful  in  my 
heart  for  those  good,  kind,  encouraging  expres- 
sions which  you  have  made  to  me  during  the 
session  of  this  conference.  I  look  back  through 
the  history  of  my  life  for  forty  years,  and  I  am 
glad  to  say  to-night  that  in  these  forty  years  I 
have   labored  with   my  associates  in  the  episco- 


LIFE    OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  267 

pacy  with  delight,  and  that  during  these  forty 
years  we  have  had  no  difficulties  among  us  to 
settle.  We  have  encouraged  one  another  in  our 
work  and  labor  of  love.  A  number  of  those  who 
have  labored  with  me  in  this  department  have 
gone  to  their  long  home.  Quite  a  number  that  I 
could  mention  just  now,  who  were  engaged  with 
me  in  this  work,  have  gone  to  their  rest.  And 
now  I  say  to  you,  as  my  brethren  in  Christ,  stand 
fast,  be  firm,  maintain  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ. 
Hearken  unto  the  voice  of  the  divine  Master, 
'  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee 
a  crown  of  life.'  And,  my  beloved  brethren, 
while  I  cannot  labor  with  you  in  the  active  work 
as  formerly,  I  bid  you  Godspeed.  My  prayer  shall 
be  for  your  prosperity  wherever  in  the  providence 
of  God  you  may  be  called  to  live  and  labor,  to 
suffer  and  to  die.  And  now  I  hand  this  gavel  to 
the  next  oldest  bishop  in  this  church,  and  I  hope 
that  from  him  it  will  go  down  to  the  next,  and  so 
on  for  the  next  hundred  years." 

Bishop  Weaver  then  addressed  the  conference, 
making  appreciative  and  affecting  allusions  to 
his  senior  associate.  Thus  was  concluded  the 
nineteenth  General  Conference,  it  being  the 
thirteenth  that  Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  been 
permitted  to  attend.  By  the  conference  he  was 
re-elected  president  of  the  missionary  board,  and 


268  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

also  as  a  member  of  the  conimission  to  revise  the 
constitution  and  confession  of  faith.  On  the  first 
Sabbath  of  the  session  he  preached  a  "  grand  ser- 
mon on  the  Saints'  Inlieritance." 

After  General  Cbuference  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
returned  to  Virginia.  He  preached  the  annual 
sermon  before  the  students  of  Shenandoah  Insti- 
tute at  Dajton,  Virginia.  He  then  arranged  to 
fill  a  number  of  appointments  for  July,  August 
and  September,  but  was  compelled,  after  filling 
his  first  appointment,  to  abandon  the  rest.  He 
was  taken  sick  at  Lebanon,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  was  kindly  cared  for  at  the  pleasant  home  of 
Mr.  J.  H.  Seltzer.  On  going  to  Ilarrisburg,  being 
still  quite  indisposed,  he  received  the  kindest  at- 
tention at  the  home  of  Rev.  D.  S.  Early.  He 
spent  the  hot  months  of  the  summer  at  the 
homes  of  his  daughters  at  Lutherville,  Maryland, 
Salem,  Virginia,  and  Churchville,  A^irginia.  In 
October  he  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon  at 
the  opening  of  the  audience  room  of  Otterbein 
Church  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania. 

In  November  he  went  to  Dayton,  Ohio,  where 
assembled  on  the  17th  of  the  month,  the  commis- 
sion to  revise  the  confession  of  faith  and  the 
constitution  of  the  Church.  The  commission 
consisted  of  twenty-seven  members,  representing 
the  best  intelligence,  truest  piety,  and  most  re- 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  269 

sponsible  character  of  the  Church.  Twenty -five 
of  the  twenty-seven  members  were  present.  The 
session  continued  through  six  days.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  served  on  the  committee  that  pre- 
pared and  reported  the  revised  confession  of 
faith.  He  took  a  deep  interest  and  an  active 
part  in  the  entire  work  of  the  commission.  His 
influence  was  in  favor  of  a  conservative  course. 
A  clear  statement  of  principal  things  and  a  firm 
adherence  to  tried  methods,  were  the  features 
sought  by  him.  He  believed  in  growth  and 
in  adjustments  to  suit  a  larger  work  and  new  con- 
ditions, but  elements  wholly  foreign  were  repug- 
nant to  him.  The  revised  confession  difiered 
from  the  old  confession  chiefly  in  being  more 
clear  and  full.  The  revised  constitution  provided 
for  lay  delegation  in  the  General  Conference,  gave 
to  the  General  Conference  the  power  to  legislate 
on  secret  societies,  and  in  various  respects  com- 
pleted and  harmonized  the  polity  of  the  Church. 
Prospective  wants  as  well  as  present  conditions 
were  regarded.  The  commission  arranged  that 
the  vote  of  the  membership  for  the  approval  or 
rejection  of  the  revised  confession  and  constitu- 
tion should  occur  in  November,  1888. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner's  having  a  part  in  the 
commission  alienated  from  him  some  of  his 
warmest   and   most   esteemed   friends.      He   felt 


270  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

keenly  the  loss  of  their  friendship.  By  individual 
members  of  the  Church  the  action  of  General 
Conference  in  constituting  the  commission  was 
bitterly  condemned.  The  acts  and  motives  of 
those  who  participated  in  the  adoption  of  this 
method  to  lead  the  Church  out  of  almost  hope- 
less distraction  were  freely  censured.  The  gen 
eral  interests  of  the  Church  were  purposely 
embarrassed,  and  disaft'ection  was  industriously 
promoted.  Alluding  to  such  things,  Bishop 
Glossbrenner,  in  a  letter,  expressed  himself  as 
follows:  "That  difference  of  opinion  on  many 
questions  should  exist,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
It  will  always  be  so.  !N"one  can  claim  infallibilitj-. 
On  many  questions  we  must  agree  to  disagree. 
If  my  brother  does  not  agree  with  me,  I  will  not 
cast  him  off  and  impugn  his  motives.  To  his 
own  Master  he  stands  or  falls.  The  spirit  mani- 
fested in  some  directions  by  some  men  I  conceive 
to  be  contrary  to  the  gospel;  and  when  I  hear 
their  bitter  speeches,  and  see  their  hard  sayings 
in  print,  I  simply  feel  to  say,  '  I  have  not  so 
learned  Christ.'  I  wish  to  follow  peace  with  all 
men,  and  holiness,  without  which  I  cannot  live 
happy  or  die  in  peace." 

In  the  winter  of  1885  and  1886  he  spent  two 
months  in  traveling  and  responding  to  various 
calls    for    his    services.       Tlie    following    spring 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  271 

he  attended  East  Peniisylvaina  Conference 
at  Mountville,  and  Pennsylvania  Conference  at 
Ilarrisburg.  At  Harrisburg,  according  to  his 
own  desire,  he  filled  on  Sabbath  morning  the  pul- 
pit of  Memorial  Church.  Between  this  church 
and  himself  there  had  sprung  up,  from  a  partic- 
ular cause,  an  estranged  feeling,  lie  desired  to 
manifest  to  the  church  his  good  will  and  Chris- 
tian fellowship.  He  also  attended  Virginia 
Conference  at  Berkeley  Springs.  At  all  of  these 
conference  sessions  he  assisted  Bishop  Dickson  in 
presiding. 

Leaving  home  early  in  the  following  April,  he 
filled  a  long  and  varied  line  of  engagements.  He 
first  visited  a  short  time  at  the  home  of  his 
daughter,  at  Salem,  Virginia.  Here  he  preached 
a,  sermon  and  made  an  address  to  the  students  of 
Roanoke  College.  He  then  went  to  White  Pine, 
Tennessee,  where  he  preached  once,  and  addressed 
the  students  of  Edwards  Academy.  He  had  a 
special  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Church  in 
Tennessee.  He  attended  the  commencement 
exercises  of  Union  Biblical  Seminary  at  Dayton, 
Ohio,  and  then  went  to  Roanoke,  Indiana,  where 
the  missionary  board  met.  Thence  he  went  to 
Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  spent  several 
days,  giving  an  earnest  talk  at  the  prayer-meeting 
of  Memorial  Church.  He  then  filled  appointments 


272  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

in  quick  succession  at  Sinking  Springs,  Reading, 
Myerstowu,  Lebanon  and  Annville.  At  Ann- 
ville  he  attended  the  commencement  exercises  of 
Lebanon  Valley  College.  He  afterward  preached 
at  Mount  Joy,  Mountville,  Lancaster,  York 
Haven,  Mount  "Wolf,  and  re-opened  St.  Paul's 
Church  near  Mount  Wolf.  His  last  sermon — 
the  last  for  this  line  of  appointments  and  the  last 
for  his  life — was  preached  June  27th  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  a  church  near  Parkton,  Maryland.  He 
arrived  at  home  June  29th,  after  an  absence  of 
nearly  three  months.  Above  his  expenses  he 
received  in  remuneration  sixty  dollars.  The 
General  Conference  had  asked  those  receiving 
the  benefits  of  his  services  to  give  him  suitable 
remuneration.  His  eagerness  to  be  in  the  work, 
however,  was  not  to  be  restrained  by  temporal 
couoiderations.  After  his  return  from  this  trip 
he  wrote  to  a  friend,  calling  him  his  bishop,  aud 
gave  a  full  report  of  this  his  last  itinerant  work. 
He  concluded  his  report  as  follows:  "I  am 
somewhat  weary,  but  in  good  health  and  spirits. 
The  Master  has  called  me  to  work,  and  with 
the  strength  that  he  gives  me,  I  am  willing  to 
work.  I  feel  more  and  more  every  day  that  my 
time  for  working  will  soon  be  past.  Pray  for 
me  that 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENMER.  273- 

.  .  .   '  with  my  latest  breath 
I  may  but  gasp  my  Savior's  name. 

Preach  him  to  all  and  cry  in  death 
Behold,  behold  the  L,amb.'  " 

He  was  anxious  to  work,  but  traveling  was 
becoming  specially  wearisome  to  him.  Being 
left  without  a  special  work,  he  was  much  per- 
plexed as  to  what  and  how  much  he  should 
undertake  to  do.  He  was  now  asked  to  take 
charge  of  George  Street  Church  in  Baltimore,  and 
signified  his  acceptance.  He  was  very  anxious 
that  the  United  Brethren  Church  begin  a  work  in 
"Washington  City,  and  would  have  willingly  en- 
tered upon  labor  there.  Beginning  with  the  last 
of  July,  he  had  consented  to  fill  a  number  of  ap- 
pointments in  Pennsylvania,  including  a  church 
dedication,  and  to  assist  at  a  number  of  camp- 
meetings.  When  urged  to  limit  the  amount  of 
his  labor  b^" said, "I  will  make  no  rash  promises." 
But  alas,  his  enfeebled  body  had  responded  to  the 
demands  of  his  imperious  and  devoted  spirit  until 
it  no  longer  had  strength  to  respond.  After  July 
8th  he  became  disqualified  for  all  work,  although 
his  hope  that  he  might  yet  be  able  to  labor  for 
the  Master  did  not  desert  him.  Recovering  some- 
what, he  was  able  to  be  about  the  house  for  a 
time.  In  August  he  was  able  to  be  taken  to  a 
health   resort  in  the  mountains,  known   as  the 

18 


274  LIFE    Ul!'    GLOSSBRENNER. 

Lone  Fountain,  but  returned  after  a  week  with- 
out Laving  received  the  expected  benefit. 

It  now  became  evident  that  the  mahxdy  under 
which  he  was  suffering  was  cancerous  tumor  of 
the  stomach,  a  disease  attended  with  great  dis- 
tress, and  which  finally,  depriving  the  patient  of 
all  nourishment,  leaves  him  to  die  by  sheer 
exhaustion.  He  had  already  passed  the  limit  at 
which  the  disease  usually  terminates  in  death. 
His  constitution,  notwithstanding  his  age,  con- 
tinued to  resist  the  preying  of  disease,  for  yet 
months  to  come.  Notwithstanding  indications 
at  times  that  the  attack  might  pass  off  as  had 
other  attacks,  every  unfavorable  alternation  car- 
ried him  lower,  lower  than  he  had  yet  been. 

While  in  health,  he  had  in  his  preaching, 
spoken  in  an  intensely  realistic  way,  of  passing 
down  into  the  cold  valley  of  death  and  of  entering 
upon  the  glories  on  the  other  side.  His  preach- 
ing was  now  put  to  the  test  in  his  own  case. 
With  both  eyes  open,  conscious  of  all  the  weak- 
ness and  distress  that  mortals  pass  through,  he 
faced  the  dread  monster  Death,  and  his  confidence 
remained  unshaken.  He  was  not  exempted  from 
the  severest  trials,  but  he  was  given  grace  to  bear 
them.  Without  murmuring,  and  with  constant 
faith  in  God,  he  bore  all  his  sufferings  and  the 
suspense  of  his  lingering   disease.      The   whole 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  275 

Churcli  watched  with  anxious  sympathy  for 
every  announcement  as  to  his  condition. 

While  lying  sick,  coming  to  understand  that 
some  difficulty  existed  between  a  brother  min- 
ister of  his  own  conference  and  himself,  he  wrote 
to  him  saying  that  he  wished  all  differences  ad- 
justed "before  he  crossed  the  river,"  The  brother 
visited  him  and  both  were  rejoiced  in  the  removal 
of  the  cloud  that  had  rested  upon  their  fellowship. 

A  presiding  elder  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  who  visited  him  in  November,  wrote: 
^'  As  I  looked  upon  him,  lying  upon  his  bed, 
reduced  to  a  shadow  of  his  former  self,  and 
scarcely  able  to  raise  himself  up  at  all,  I  thought 
of  his  vigorous,  manly  form  when  first  I  became 
acquainted  with  him  and  heard  him  preach 
nearly  fifty  years  ago ;  but  now  how  is  the  strong 
stafi*  broken  and  the  beautiful  rod.  Notwith- 
standing his  extreme  physical  debility,  his  mind 
is  remarkably  clear  and  his  confidence  is  strong 
in  the  Lord." 

Immediately  after  this,  Mr.  John  Dodds,  of 
Dayton,  Ohio,  a  bosom  friend  of  the  Bishop 
through  nearly  all  of  his  public  life,  went  to 
Churchville  to  visit  him,  and  remained  from 
Saturday  to  Monday  evening.  To  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner  this  visit  was  a  source  of  boundless 
comfort.     As  he  had  strength,  he  spoke  of  the 


276  LIFE   OF  GLOSSBRENNER. 

conferences  over  which  he  had  often  presided,  of 
brethren  in  all  parts  of  the  Church,  and  of  the 
various  institutions  and  general  interests  of  the 
Church.  These  references  were  all  with  deepest 
tenderness,  and  often  with  weeping  eyes.  His 
love  for  the  Church  and  desire  for  its  peace  and 
prosperity,  always  so  sincerely  felt,  never  shone 
out  more  touchingly  than  now.  In  this  conversa- 
tion he  said  that  his  work  was  done.  He  hoped 
that  others  would  carry  forward  the  work  of  the 
Church  with  increased  success.  He  would  have 
been  glad  to  live  to  the  next  General  Conference 
and  see  a  favorable  issue  from  the  present  crisis  in 
the  Church.  He  said  "  If  I  could  preach  again, 
just  once  more,  I  would  preach  Jesus;  I  would 
preach  from  his  words  to  the  disciples  on  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  '  It  is  I,  be  not  afraid.'  "  He  said, 
"My  title  is  clear,  not  because  I  have  preached  the 
gospel,  but  alone  through  the  love  and  mercy  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  After  Mr.  Dodds  had 
bidden  him  good-bye,  leaving  him  lying  in  his 
bed,  quiet,  but  deeply  aflected,  he  started  to  leave 
the  house.  The  family  also  stepped  outside. 
Looking  back,  they  saw  the  Bishop  standing 
near  the  door,  having  gotten  out  of  bed  unas- 
sisted. "With  hand  uplifted  and  with  streaming 
eyes  he  said,  "  Brother  Dodds,  tell  the  brethren  it 
is  all  right.     My  home  is  over  there." 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  277 

He  continued  to  grow  weaker  until  the  morn- 
ing of  January  7,  1887,  when  he  calmly  fell 
asleep  in  Jesus.  His  last  words  were  "  My 
Savior."  The  last  service  in  which  he  shared 
was  a  service  of  song  and  prayer  in  his  own  room 
a  week  before  his  death.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  was  seventy-four  years,  five  months  and  thir- 
teen days  of  age.  He  had  been  fifty-six  years  a 
minister  and  forty-two  years  a  bishop.  He  had 
not  lost  a  single  year  from  the  active  work  of  the 
ministry.  He  had  requested  that  arrangements 
for  his  funeral  be  simple  and  plain,  and  that 
brethren  in  the  ministry  bear  his  body  to  its  last 
resting  place.  He  also  desired  that  some  one 
who  had  been  associated  with  him  in  the  general 
work  of  the  Church,  Bishop  Weaver  if  possible, 
preach  his  funeral  sermon.  In  all  these  respects 
his  desires  were  fulfilled. 

The  following  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Hott, 
written  in  the  chamber  of  death  on  the  morn- 
ing of  January  11th,  before  the  funeral  services 
at  the  church,  is  too  beautiful  to  be  omitted : 

On  the  casket,  on  a  large,  heavy  silver  plate,  are 
these  words: 

' '  BLESSED  ARE  THE  DEAD 
WHO  DIE  IN  the;  lord." 
The  hands  that  have  for  fifty-six  years  been  lifted  up  in 
pointing  out  to  men  the  way  of  life,  lie  emptj-  on  the 


278  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

breast.  In  the  chamber  about  are  the  evidences  of  taste, 
love,  his  own  peculiar  life.  Across  the  room  against  the 
wall  hangs  a  life-size  bust  portrait  of  his  companion, 
with  whom  he  walked  the  way  of  life  more  than  fifty 
years,  upon  which  he  so  often  looked  during  these 
months  of  suffering,  and  whose  name  he  called  when  his 
feet  were  down  far  in  the  waters  of  the  Jordan.  On  the 
door  hangs  the  pouch  containing  the  beautiful  canes 
with  which  his  latest  tottering  steps  were  sta5-ed,  gifts 
of  friends.  At  the  foot  of  the  casket  is  his  rich  librarj^ 
from  which  he  was  long  accustomed  to  draw  help  in  his 
great  work.  Everywhere  are  the  evidences  of  his  own 
peculiar  life  and  love  and  labor.  But  in  the  midst  of  it 
all  he  is  asleep,  blessed  sleep,  asleep  in  Jesus.  He  is 
dressed  in  a  plain  clerical  black  suit,  such  as  he  wore  in 
the  pulpit,  with  a  white  tie  iipon  his  neck.  His  e5'es  are 
deeply  sunken  under  his  great  brow,  and  over  them 
hang  those  heavy  black  eyebrows,  the  like  of  which  are 
seldom  seen.  His  broad,  smooth  brow  is  as  natural  as 
life,  and  his  thin,  gray,  silken  hair  upon  his  round,  well- 
formed  head  seems  the  picture  of  life.  His  lips,  just  a 
little  parted,  retain  their  splendid  mold,  and  look  as  if 
they  were  about  to  speak.  His  entire  face,  except  the 
wasted  thinness,  wears  its  smooth,  calm  mold  of  beauty. 
In  his  countenance  there  are  no  traces  of  sorrow  or 
anguish,  or  of  bodily  suffering.  The  appearance  is  pleas- 
ant and  welcoming  as  life.  The  features  and  countenance 
are  those  of  trust  arid  hope. 

The  sermon  of  Bishop  Weaver  was  a  just  and 
iitting  tribute  to  his  departed  associate.  At  times 
he  was  ahnost  unable  to  proceed  on  account  of 
the  tender  and  stronir  emotions  that  filled   his 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  279 

own  heart.  The  body  of  Bishop  Glossbreuner 
was  laid  to  rest  beside  that  of  his  wife  in  the 
union  cemetery  near  Churchville.  Here  in  the 
little  cemetery  by  the  roadside,  overlooking  the 
romantic  scenery  that  had  charmed  his  heart  in 
youth  and  afforded  him  solace  in  age,  in  this  spot 
which  he  had  assisted  in  planning  and  where  he 
desired  his  ashes  to  rest,  his  body  was  tenderly 
placed,  awaiting  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 

This  chapter  will  be  concluded  with  a  review 
and  a  more  connected  description  of  the  life  and 
character  of  Bishop  Glossbreuner.  In  his  case 
an  evenness  that  seemed  to  exclude  all  striking 
characteristics  was  itself  the  most  distingnishing 
characteristic.  His  real  greatness  was  concealed 
under  the  mask  of  his  modest  nature  and  perfect 
self-control.  He  was  even,  balanced,  and  mature 
in  knowledge  of  self.  His  best  efforts  included 
the  harmonious  and  full  exercise  of  all  the  powers 
of  mind  and  heart.  Within  his  pliant  glove 
there  were  sinews  of  iron.  His  determination, 
while  not  demonstrative,  was  perfect  in  calcula- 
tion and  persistent  in  execution. 

In  traveling  almost  constantly  on  the  cars, 
through  so  many  years,  he  never  but  once  missed 
a  train.  When  the  time  came  for  him  to  leave 
for  his  work,  no  considerations  could  divert  or 
delay   him.      With  him  gentleness  often  accom- 


280  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

plished  what  a  display  of  force  would  have  been 
unable  to  achieve.  He  was  cheerful  without 
lightness,  and  easy  without  familiarity.  He  bore 
meekly  popularit}'  unsought.  Until  late  in  his 
life  he  never  repeated  conpliments  bestowed  upon 
him.  The  apprehension  of  failing  powers  toward 
the  last  caused  him  to  take  greater  notice  of  the 
estimates  of  others.  In  a  certain  manner,  he 
always  cared  for  the  esteem  and  good  will  of 
others.  He  was  not  one  of  those  who  affect  to 
despise  public  sentiment  and  at  the  same  time 
demand  that  this  same  2:)ublic  sentiment  shall 
praise  them  for  their  audacity.  "VYith  the  true 
sentiments  of  a  gentleman  he  claimed  respect  for 
himself,  and  as  freely  responded  to  the  claims 
and  feelings  of  others.  He  did  not  possess  a  few 
thoughts  or  cherish  a  tew  sentiments  at  extremes, 
with  a  barren  waste  between;  neither  did  his 
mind  and  heart  occupy  a  solitary  middle  point, 
with  wastes  to  the  right  and  left. 

In  his  secular  affairs  he  was  cautious  and  care- 
ful. He  received  property  to  the  amount  of 
several  thousand  dollars  from  his  wife's  father. 
This,  together  with  tlie  provident  management  of 
his  faithful  wife,  gave  him  a  freedom  to  engage  in 
the  work  of  the  ministry  that  he  would  not  other- 
wise have  had.  It  was  necessary,  however,  that 
he   add   his   planning  and  effort  that  he   might 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  281 

respectably  rear  and  educate  his  children,  and 
prudently  provide  for  wants  that  might  confront 
him.  lie  was  hospitable  at  his  home  and  charita- 
ble toward  the  needy.  He  early  made  himself 
and  one  of  his  daughters  life  directors  of  the 
missionary  society.  He  gave  to  church  interests 
here  and  there.  It  was  the  opinion  of  some  that 
he  was  worth  from  fifty  to  sixty  thousand  dollars, 
and  that  he  therefore  should  have  given  more 
freely  to  the  various  calls  that  came  to  him. 
Referring  to  a  request  for  a  donation  of  one 
thousand  dollars  to  one  of  the  interests  of  the 
Church,  he  said  that  he  had  already  given  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  in  money  and 
two  hundred  dollars  in  subscription  to  that  inter- 
est, and  could  do  no  more  at  that  time.  His 
property  was  mostly  in  land,  which  yielded  small 
returns.  His  resources  were  further  lessened  by 
interest  that  he  must  meet  on  borrowed  money. 
At  his  death  he  left  an  estate  valued  at  about  ten 
thousand  dollars  outside  of  insurance  that  he 
carried  on  his  life.  A  part  of  this  came  into  his 
hands  after  he  ceased  to  receive  salary  from  the 
Church,  and  all  of  this  and  more  was  properly  to 
be  set  down  to  the  amount  received  through  the 
family  of  Mrs.  Glossbrenner.  The  first  year  that 
he  served  as  bishop  he  received  thirty-six  dollars 
above  his  traveling  expenses.     Before  the  war  he 


282  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

was  simply  eutitled  to  from  two  hundred  to 
three  liundred  dollars  per  year.  After  the  war 
he  received  from  seven  hundred  and  fifty  to  one 
thousand  dollars  per  year,  with  an  increase  to 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  year  for  the  last 
term  that  he  served  a  regular  district.  Bishop 
Glossbrenner  never  complained  of  the  amount  of 
his  salary,  even  when  it  was  the  most  meager, 
and  when  it  became  somewhat  more  adequate, 
it  was  gratefully  acknowledged.  "Writing  in 
1884,  he  said:  "Sometimes  we  hear  ministers 
boasting  of  what  they  have  done  for  the  church. 
I  have  nothing  to  boast  of  in  that  direction,  but 
would  rather  thank  God  for  what  the  church 
has  done  for  me." 

In  his  social  relations  he  was  sincere,  devoted, 
welcoming  and  reciprocating  the  warmest  friend- 
ship, lie  could  not,  however,  simulate  respect 
and  confidence  that  were  not  felt,  and  his  caution 
naturally  limited  his  closest  friendship  to  a  re- 
stricted circle. 

His  character  as  a  Christian  rested  upon  his 
unreserved  acceptance  of  the  divine  authority  of 
Christianity,  and  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 
A  freshness,  a  living  trust  in  God  in  ordinary  as 
well  as  in  unusual  circumstances,  and  habitual 
devotion  characterized  his  religious  life.  His 
prayers  in  his  family,  and  when  a  guest  among 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  283 

friends,  as  well  as  in  the  public  congregation, 
were  models  of  tenderness  and  appropriateness. 
Repentance  toward  God  for  all  sin,  trust  in  him 
for  all  grace,  and  the  claiming  of  the  exalted 
privilege  of  Christian  assurance  through  the 
witness  of  the  Spirit — the  crowning  facts  in  all 
evangelical  experience — were  most  conspicuous  in 
his  life  and  work. 

His  pre-eminent  success  as  a  minister  was 
largely  due  to  his  unvarying  devotion  to  his 
work.  Herein,  perhaps,  lies  the  chief  value  of 
his  life  as  an  example  to  young  ministers.  Having 
satisfied  himself  as  to  his  duty,  his  course  was 
from  that  moment  settled.  When  hardships  or 
unpleasant  duties  confronted  him,  he  did  not  go 
back  over  the  question  of  his  call  to  the  ministry 
and  canvass  again  the  reasons  for  his  particular 
direction  in  life.  He  did  not  rely  for  success 
upon  supposed  genius  or  upon  favor.  "What  the 
world  most  needs  is  an  inspiring  model  to  men 
of  a  "  sound  mind,  a  pure  heart  and  ordinary 
o;ifts  and  attainments." 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  will  be  remembered 
chiefly  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  With  him 
sympathy  for  the  truth  and  sympathy  for  men 
stood  in  fair  proportion  to  each  other.  The 
former  was  sufficiently  strong  to  make  him  a 
student,  and  to  impel  him  in  his  general  prepara- 


284  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBREXNER. 

tioii,  especially  in  causing  him  to  lay  up  in  his 
mind  a  rich  store  of  scripture  truth.  The  latter 
predominated  in  the  direct  preparation  of  his 
sermons.  lie  sought  to  bring  from  his  text  and 
subject  what  would  meet  the  wants  of  his  hearers. 
There  are  three  kinds  of  unity — the  logical,  unity 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  leading  idea;  the  emo- 
tional, that  attained  through  the  government  of 
a  master  emotion;  and  lastly,  the  unity  efteeted 
by  the  organizing  power  of  a  particular  purpose. 
If  these  are  combined,  as  far  as  in  particular  cases 
they  admit  of  combination,  they  give  us  the  ideal 
structure  of  a  sermon.  We  then  have  fidelity  to 
subject  matter,  a  predominant  sentiment,  and  an 
energy  brought  to  bear  npon  the  will.  Bishop 
Olossbrenner's  sermons  always  evinced  unity  in 
one  or  more  of  these  forms.  He  preached  doc- 
trinally — not  the  obscure  doctrines,  but  the  great 
evangelical  truths  of  the  Christian  system.  He 
generally  made  out  from  three  to  five  general 
divisions,  often  with  a  number  of  subdivisions 
under  each.  But  notwithstanding  the  minute- 
ness of  his  subdivisions,  he  swept  on  through  his 
subject  without  the  least  check  to  the  current 
of  emotion  at  first  excited.  His  applications, 
which  generally  accompanied,  were  the  natural 
outgrowth  of  his  entire  treatment.  There  was  a 
just   balance   and   a  proper   reciprocal  help  be 


LIFE    OF    QLOSSBRENNER.  285 

tween  his  head  and  his  heart.  While  he  often 
wept  in  his  preaching,  it  was  when  the  thoughts 
that  filled  all  minds  put  others  into  the  same 
mood  with  himself.  His  language  was  the 
simple,  natural  expression  of  his  thought,  and  his 
action,  always  graceful  and  appropriate,  was  an 
unconscious  enforcement  of  his  message.  It  was 
the  rarest  thing  for  him  to  recall  a  word  or  to 
change  a  sentence  that  he  had  begun.  He  had 
the  enviable  ability  of  giving  to  the  most  elabor- 
ate preparation  the  character  of  spontaneous 
utterance.  His  preaching  was  attended  by 
marked  unction.  Seldom  was  this  indefinable, 
persuading,  conquering,  and  consoling  power 
absent.  Most  persons,  in  giving  the  peculiarity 
of  his  preaching,  would  name  at  once  his  large 
and  apt  use  of  scripture.  Every  point  must  be 
enforced  by  scripture,  not  any  passage  that 
seemed  to  have  a  bearing,  but  the  passages 
most  appropriate  and  forcible.  This  feature  con- 
stituted much  of  the  beauty  as  well  as  the  force 
of  his  preaching.  In  his  preaching  there  was  no 
extravagance,  no  sensationalism,  no  display  of 
ingenuity.  He  rarely  introduced  anecdotes  by 
way  of  illustration.  He  approved  their  use  by 
others  when  judiciously  introduced,  but  the  use 
of  them  by  himself  was  not  harmonious  with  his 
disposition    or    style   of   preaching.      He   never 


286  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

sacrificed  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit,  or  trampled 
upon  the  proper  decorum  of  a  Christian  minister. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  he  was  recog- 
nized by  persons  of  all  degrees  of  culture  as  one 
of  the  grandest  preachers  of  the  gospel  that  our 
land  has  produced.  Once  having  preached  a 
dedicatory  sermon,  a  number  of  ministers  of 
other  churches  being  present,  a  very  clerical  and 
able  Episcopal  minister  became  so  excited  over 
the  grand  scriptural  sermon  of  Bishop  Glossbren- 
uer  that  he  rushed  up  to  the  pastor  of  the  United 
Brethren  congregation  saying,  "It  is  wonderful, 
wonderful  indeed.  Never  has  there  been  such 
preaching  since  the  days  of  St.  Paul.  That  man 
ought  to  be  set  up  somewhere  as  a  model  for  all 
other  preachers  to  copy."  Said  a  layman  well 
qualified  to  judge:  "I  have  heard,  during  my 
frequent  visits  to  !N"ew  York  and  Philadelphia, 
the  most  distinguished  preachers  this  country  can 
boast  of,  but  Bishop  Glossbrenner  stood  pre- 
eminently above  them  all,  in  my  opinion,  as  a 
plain,  inspiring,  eloquent,  and  spiritual  gospel 
preacher." 

lie  delivered,  especially  in  later  years,  the  same 
sermons  many  times,  and  frequently  before  the 
same  audiences.  Ilis  sermons,  however,  were 
always  fresh,  often  improving  in  interest  with 
repetition.      The    secret   of    this    freshness    was 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBREXNER.  287 

doubtless  in  this  that  he  knew  how  to  take  sub- 
jects that  had  divinity  in  them.  He  did  not 
build  his  sermons  on  conceits.  The  same  springs 
would  always  yield  refreshing  to  his  own  soul, 
and  thus  to  the  souls  of  those  that  heard.  It 
would  be  perilous  to  most  preachers  to  attempt 
to  draw  from  s'ome  of  the  texts  that  furnished 
the  basis  for  his  most  noted  sermons.  They  call 
for  too  much  knowledge  of  the  deep  things  of 
God,  too  much  of  the  wine  of  the  kingdom,  and 
too  great  a  familiarity  with  the  speech  of  Canaan, 
for  the  ordinary  preacher  to  make  them  the  basis 
for  a  sermon. 

He  spoke  from  the  standpoint  of  one  already 
grounded  in  the  Christian  faith,  and  rarely  laid 
his  premises  in  the  requirements  of  the  worldly 
understanding.  He  was  like  a  Matthew  declaring 
to  the  Jews  that  their  long  looked-for  Messiah 
had  come;  or  like  a  John  revealing  to  Christians 
the  mysteries  of  the  inner  life  and  the  glories  of 
the  saints'  inheritance.  What  is  most  surprising, 
though  it  ought  not  to  be  so,  is  that  from  this 
exalted  position  he  reached  also  most  successfully 
the  mind  and  the  heart  of  the  worldly  and  un- 
believing. For  this  world,  next  to  an  experience 
in  the  heart,  he  preached  the  duty  and  the  joy  of 
Christian  fellowship;  and  for  the  world  to  come, 
the  climax  of  his  descriptions  was  reached  in  the 


288  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENMEK. 

portrayal  of  tlie  cliurch  militant  gathered  into 
the  presence  of  its  divine  Head, 

While  he  delighted  in  large  audiences  and  im- 
portant occasions,  he  was  successful  much  beyond 
the  ordinary  before  a  small  audience.  The  sum- 
mer before  the  death  of  Mrs.  Glossbrenner,  he 
with  Mrs.  Glossbrenner  spent '  some  time  at 
Stribbling  Springs,  not  far  from  his  home.  He 
preached  a  number  of  times  in  the  parlor  of 
that  health  resort,  to  the  great  delight  of  the 
proprietor  and  his  guests.  His  preaching  carried 
an  agreeable  surprise  to  both  those  who  were 
accustomed  to  hear  the  usual  preaching  of  the 
day,  and  to  those  who  rarely  listened  to  sermons. 
He  preached  the  gospel,  depending  on  the  savor 
of  the  gospel  to  interest,  rather  than  on  outside 
elements  or  attendant  adornment.  He  preached 
Christ  as  the  universal  Savior  and  the  supreme 
attraction. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  never  with  pleasure  de- 
voted himself  to  writing.  He  wrote  for  the 
press  only  when  occasion  required.  In  his  private 
letters  he  rarely  went  beyond  the  matter  in  hand. 
Later  in  life,  when  it  l)ecame  necessary  for  him  in 
his  preaching  to  depend  more  on  manuscript,  he 
wrote  out  in  full  or  in  large  part  a  number  of 
sermons.  In  speaking  from  manuscript,  while 
hampered   somewhat,  he   yet   spoke   with   great 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  289 

effectiveness,  especially  for  one  whose  earlier 
efforts  were  confined  to  extemporaneous  delivery. 
Barring  the  aristocratic  arrogance  and  narrow- 
ness which  in  the  minds  o±  many  are  associated 
with  the  episcopal  office,  Bishop  Glossbrenner 
was  every  inch  a  bishop.  There  was  much  of  the 
churchman  in  him.  He  had  clear  ideas,  strong 
convictions,  and  noble  feelings  with  respect  to 
the  church  general.  At  the  same  time  he  dis- 
cerned in  the  particular  church  to  which  he 
belonged,  his  relations,  opportunities,  and  obliga- 
tions as  toward  the  general  church  of  Christ. 
One  who  knew  well  the  deep,  permanent  feelings 
of  his  life,  has  said  that  when  he  sung  his  favorite 
lines  beginning,  "  I  love  thy  church,  0  God," 
he  sung  with  the  full  conviction  that  they  ap- 
plied to  his  own  particular  church,  and  through 
the  same  to  the  church  general.  He  often  em- 
phasized the  importance  of  keeping  to  the  old 
landmarks,  meaning  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
in  its  simplicity,  insistence  on  a  genuine  expe- 
rience, and  simplicity  in  worship.  In  doctrine  he 
was  thoroughly  Arminian,  being  thus  in  hearty 
accord  with  his  church.  He  was  once  asked  by  a 
minister  of  a  Calvinistic  church  what  the  United 
Brethren  believe.  He  answered  "We  believe  what 
you  preach."  "While  he  did  not  attach  as  much 
importance  to  outward  elements  as  do  some,  he 

19 


290  LIFE   OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

yet  had  a  clear  conception  of  the  genius  and 
importance  of  the  visible,  organized  church.  He 
approached  the  subject,  however,  from  the  side 
of  the  inward,  spiritual  kingdom.  He  expected 
the  conquest  of  the  world,  the  triumph  of  sound 
doctrine,  the  ennoblement  of  character,  and  exem- 
plary life,  primarily  and  most  effectually  througii 
evangelical  truth  and  an  evangelical  experience. 
He  had  also  the  instinct  of  law  and  government. 
In  modifying  polity  or  discipline  he  took  an 
intermediate  course.  One  who  served  with  him 
on  the  board  of  bishops  said  of  him:  "The 
conservative  tendencies  of  his  nature  would  not 
allow  him  to  be  the  first  to  embrace  the  new,  nor 
would  his  sound,  manly  judgment  sufter  him  to  be 
the  last  to  forsake  the  old.  He  cannot  be  cata- 
logued with  those  who  believe  that  all  wisdom 
belongs  to  the  past." 

As  an  administrator  of  law,  he  was  wise  and 
eflicient.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
discipline  of  the  Church  and  with  general  eccles- 
iastical usage.  As  a  presiding  officer  it  would  be 
difficult  indeed  to  find  his  superior.  He  always 
gave  close  attention  to  what  was  before  the  house, 
and  knew  what  its  position  was.  He  never  be- 
came confused  or  impatient.  He  sought  to  be 
fair  and  impartial.  He  started  out  from  a  few 
well  known  principles,  which  he  kept  steadily  in 


LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER.  291 

view.  He  attended  strictly  to  his  own  duties, 
and  allowed  the  conference  as  a  body,  and  the 
individual  members  to  do  their  part.  "While 
never  indifferent  to  the  effect  of  proposed  meas- 
ures, he  usually  suppressed  his  own  preference 
till  the  conference  had  given  its  decision,  and 
often  then,  in  a  few  earnest  and  well  chosen 
words,  he  advised  as  to  the  prudent  execution  of 
the  purpose  of  the  conference.  Under  his  presi- 
dency the  dignity  of  the  body  over  which  he 
presided  was  never  allowed  to  suffer. 

"When  requested  by  conferences  to  administer 
a  reprimand,  he  scored  to  the  line,  but  by  loving 
admonition  showed  that  the  purpose  was  to 
secure  amendment  and  not  to  inflict  pain. 

His  decisions  were  given  with  great  promptness 
and  rendered  in  the  most  concise  and  transparent 
language.  They  went  right  to  the  point  at  issue. 
He  never  repeated  his  statements,  or  undertook 
to  argue.  Once  after  giving  a  decision  that  was 
not  exactly  to  the  mind  of  Rev.  John  Bright, 
whom  he  always  esteemed,  the  latter  said,  "  Well, 
I  will  not  argue  with  the  Bishop."  The  Bishop 
replied,  "  I  certainly  will  not  argue  with  you." 
At  one  time  a  minister  who  had  been  guilty  of 
a  gross  offense,  persisted  in  an  effort  to  obstruct 
the  action  of  the  conference.  The  Bishop  said  to 
him  with  emphasis,  "  Sit  down."      Some  one  at 


292  LIFE    OF    GLOSSBRENNER. 

once  moved  the  expulsion  of  the  offender.  The 
motion  was  put  and  carried.  The  Bishop  then 
addressing  him  said,  "  The  Church  opened  wide 
its  door  to  receive  you;  it  now  opens  wide  its 
door  to  let  you  go  out.  Go !  "  The  ground  of 
his  success  as  a  presiding  officer  was  doubtless,  to 
a  great  extent,  his  perfect  self-control.  He  never 
abused  his  authority  or  used  it  beyond  what  was 
necessary.  His  course  thus  disarmed  personal 
hostility.  His  authority  was  preeminently  that 
of  right,  and  love,  and  gentleness.  He  expected 
proper  order  and  was  firm  in  his  positions,  and 
carried  a  reserve  of  resource  which  it  was  the 
heiglit  of  temerity  to  attempt  to  withstand. 

That  Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  no  faults,  or 
tluit  he  had  no  equals  in  particular  gifts  and 
graces,  is  by  no  means  asserted.  He  was  human. 
He  was  far  from  claiming  infallibility  for  himself. 
But  taken  all  in  all, — his  equanimity  of  tem- 
per, his  rich  gifts  harmoniously  blending,  his 
persistence  in  a  well  defined  course,  his  character 
as  a  man  and  a  Christian,  his  eminence  as  a 
preacher  of  the  cross  and  as  a  bishop  in  the 
church  of  Christ — his  like  has  not  appeared  in 
the  history  of  the  Christian  denominations  of  our 
country.  Well  may  the  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ,  with  whose  lot  he  cast  his 
fortunes,  and  whose  good  he  continually  sought. 


LIFE   OF   GLOSSBRENNER.  293 

cherish  his  memory,  imitate  his  spirit,  and  zeal- 
ously promote  the  work  to  which  he  devoted  his 
life.  While  he  lived  there  was  no  fixed  limit  to 
his  own  growth  and  advancement.  His  faith,  his 
hope,  and  the  sweetness  of  his  spirit  grew  even 
more  rapidly  and  manifested  themselves  even 
more  fully,  as  his  years  grew  few.  In  his  work 
he  planted  for  the  present  and  the  future  alike, 
and  imposed  no  barriers  to  the  best  possibilities 
that  the  ages  might  reveal. 

This  attempt  to  portray  the  life  and  work  of 
the  noble,  the  unwearied,  the  sainted  Bishop 
Glossbrenner,  may  fittingly  be  concluded  in  the 
following  language  of  an  honored  colleague  on 
the  board  of  bishops,  who  confessed  to  seeing 
everywhere  the  impress  that  he  had  left  upon  the 
Church :  "  In  his  work  he  was  like  one  depositing 
the  life  germs  of  the  great  forest,  and  not  tarry- 
ing for  their  development.  His  work  consisted 
in  depositing  germs  of  the  Christian  life  in  the 
hearts  of  men  and  in  society,  and  so  shaping  the 
current  of  thought  in  his  own  church  as  to  supply 
the  conditions  of  an  almost  endless  development. 
Some  men's  work  seems  to  be  finished  and  to 
cease  when  the  hand  that  wrought  it  is  palsied  in 
death.  Kot  so  with  Bishop  Glossbrenner's  work; 
his  is  a  living  something  that  will  develop  with 
the  ages." 


APPENDIX. 


SERMONS  AND  SKETCHES. 

The  Love  of  Christ — I  Magnify  Mine  Office — Disputations — 
Sowing  Beside  All  Waters — The  Open  Door — Pray  for  the 
Peace  of  Jerusalem — The  Church — Look  Upon  Zion. 

Many  persons  who  have  listened  to  the  sermons 
of  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  and  others  who  have  not 
had  that  pleasure  will  be  glad  to  have  placed  within 
their  reach  some  of  his  sermons  and  sketches.  Some 
of  the  sermons  are  considerably  abridged,  and  none 
of  them  have  the  fuller  amplification  which 
attended  his  impassioned  delivery.  In  some  cases 
the  sermons  are  preserved  only  in  the  abridged 
or  unexpanded  form. 

SERMONS. 

THE    LOVE    OF    CHRIST. 

"That  he  would  grant  you  according  to  the  riches  of  his  glory,' 
to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man  ;■ 
that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith;  that  ye,  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend  withi 
all  saints  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height;, 
and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,  that| 

295 


296  APPENDIX. 

ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God.  Now  unto  him 
that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or 
think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto  him  be 
glory  in  the  church  by  Christ  Jesus  throughout  all  ages,  world 
without  end.    Amen."     Ephesians  3:  i6-2i. 

Every  heart  should  overflow  with  gratitude  to 
Christ  that  a  way  was  opened  for  men  to  speak  to 
God.  It  is  now  the  dut}'  and  privilege  of  men 
to  pray.  We  are  taught  to  do  so  by  the  examples  in 
the  Old  Testament.  God,  after  recounting  what  the 
people  needed,  said,  "  For  all  these  things  will  I  be 
inquired  of."  Christ  said,  "Ask,  and  it  shall  be 
given  you;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find."  Paul  said  that 
men  should  pray  everywhere,  lifting  up  holy  hands. 
This  duty  is  so  clear  that  we  arrive  at  the  following 
conclusions : 

It  is  impossible  for  men  to  be  saved  unless 
they  pray.  They  cannot  be  regenerated  without 
prayer.  They  cannot  maintain  their  holy  relation 
to  God  without  prayer  and  watchfulness.  It  is  also 
our  duty  to  pray  for  others  as  well  as  ourselves. 
Many  are  ready  to  admonish,  but  slow  to  pray  for 
their  erring  brethren.  Paul  has  left  us  an  example 
in  this.  He  not  only  labored  for  their  conversion, 
but  constantly  bore  them  to  a  throne  of  grace,  that 
they  might  stand  fast  in  the  faith.  This  we  see  in 
the  prayer  before  us.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
spiritual  prayers  ever  offered  to  a  throne  of  grace. 
It  certainly  encourages  us  to  ask  most  largely  of  our 
heavenly  Father. 

1.     The  first  great  cardinal  l)l('ssing  asked  for  by 


APPENDIX.  297 

the  apostle  was  strength.  As  Christians  we  need 
nothing  so  much  as  this.  We  are  so  weak  that  Ave 
can  do  nothing  without  divine  strength.  Strength  is 
important.  Physical  and  intellectual  strength  may 
be  increased  by  proper  use.  Man  may  be  a  giant  in 
these  regards,  but  without  spiritual  strength  he  will 
be  a  very  weak  man.  The  apostle  refers  here  un- 
doubtedly to  divine  strength,  because  he  speaks  of  the 
strength  of  the  inner  man,  and  of  the  Spirit  of  God  as 
the  agent  by  which  this  strength  was  to  be  communi- 
cated. Christians  may  become  stronger  in  the  Lord 
every  day.  The  prophet  declares  that  "  they  that 
wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength,  they 
shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles,  they  shall  run 
and  not  be  weary,  and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint." 
The  church  needs  more  divine  strength  to-day.  It 
may  be  secured  by  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  true,  however,  that  many  professors  become 
weaker  every  year,  and  eventually  become  entirely 
shorn  of  all  their  strength.  Have  you  as  much 
strength  as  when  first  converted?  This  you  can 
determine  by  the  fact  that  temptations  that  you 
overcame  then,  overcome  you  now.  It  is  seen  in 
your  lack  of  courage  to  perform  your  religious 
duties  as  promptly  now  as  then.  Then  you  could 
stand  up  in  church  and  out  of  it  and  declare  what 
God  had  done  for  you ;  now  you  are  afraid  or 
ashamed  to  open  your  mouth  for  God.  Then  you 
had  power  to  mount  up  as  on  eagle's  wings ;  now 
you  are  struggling  along  in  the  lowlarid.     Then  you 


298  APPENDIX. 

could  make  the  world  your  servant;  now  the  world 
makes  you  its  servant.  In  view  of  these  things  the 
apostle  might  well  pray  as  he  did.  The  Bible  shows 
where  saints  were  strengthened.  See  Daniel  in  his 
great  trial.  See  the  Hebrew  children  in  the  fiery  fur- 
nace. Hear  the  apostle  when  commanded  to  desist 
from  preaching  Christ,  say,  "We  ought  to  obey 
God  rather  than  men."  Hear  Paul  exclaim  in  the 
midst  of  his  suffering,  "None  of  these  things  move 
me."  Why?  Because  God  gave  them  strength 
according  to  their  desires  and  needs. 

2.  Another  important  blessing  prayed  for  by  the 
apostle  was,  that  Christ  might  dwell  in  their  hearts 
by  faith.  Many  think  it  mysterious  that  Christ 
should  dwell  in  the  heart.  It  is  a  mystery,  to  be 
sure,  but  we  rejoice  that  it  is  a  reality.  The  apostle 
says,  "Christ  in  you,  the  hope  of  glory."  Trifle 
with  it  or  repudiate  it,  but  know,  oh  man,  that 
Christ  dwells  in  the  hearts  of  his  people  by  faith. 
What  are  all  your  forms  and  ceremonies  worth 
without  an  indwelling  Christ  ?  Living,  saving  faith 
lays  hold  of  Christ  and  brings  him  into  the  heart. 
The  devil  as  a  strong  man  keeps  the  palace,  but 
Christ,  through  our  faith,  drives  him  out  and  takes 
up  his  abode  there.  Christ  dwelling  in  the  heart 
brings  peace  and  joy.  With  all  your  knowledge  of 
theology  you  may  not  with  that  alone  be  able  to 
resist  infidelity,  but  with  an  indwelling  Christ  you 
may  accomplish  it. 

3.  The    tliird  great  blessing   prayed  for   was,  to 


APPENDIX.  299 

"  be  able  to  comprehend  with  all  saints  Avhat  is  the 
breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height;  and 
to  know  the  love  of  Christ."  There  is  too  much 
lingering  about  the  shore;  launch  out,  there  is 
deeper  water  before  you. 

(1.)  Its  length.  Can  you  find  the  beginning  of 
God's  love  ?  Look  into  your  own  heart ;  there  you 
will  find  a  beginning;  then  go  back.  Think  of 
your  good  father  and  mother;  of  primitive  Chris- 
tians ;  of  the  apostles ;  of  the  prophetic  age ;  of  the 
patriarchal  age ;  back  to  the  first  great  promise ;  yet 
back  in  your  mind,  and  you  will  find  Jesus  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father  before  the  world  began.  But 
follow  his  love  the  other  way.  Start  again  with 
your  heart.  You  found  his  love  when  sin  rolled 
from  your  burdened  heart.  Amid  your  trials,  temp- 
tations, griefs,  and  woes,  Jesus  has  stood  by  you  and 
strengthened  you.  He  brought  you  out  of  every  trial 
as  gold  from  the  crucible.  Go  on  till  death,  then 
Jesus  takes  you  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  Follow  on  till  your  soul  reaches  the  home  of 
the  blest ;  there  Jesus  will  gird  himself  and  lead  you 
to  green  pastures  of  eternal  joy. 

"When  we've  been  there  ten  thousand  years 
Bright,  shining  as  the  sun ; 
We'll  have  no  less  days  to  sing  God's  praise, 
Than  when  we  first  begun." 

God's  love  is  like  himself.  "  It  is  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting." 


300  APPENDIX. 

(2.)  Its  breadth.  How  broad  is  its  redeeming 
influence !  It  reaches  every  man.  Broad  as  the 
world !     Because  of  this  I  can  say, 

"Come,  sinner,  to  the  gospel  feast, 
Let  every  soul  be  Jesus'  guest." 

I  can  proclaim  everywhere  that "  whosoever  shall  call 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved."  "  Ho ! 
every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters." 
"Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life 
freely."  You  can  go  Avliere  no  Bible  or  preached 
gospel  has  reached,  but  you  cannot  get  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  redeeming  influence  of  the  love  of  God. 
It  spreads  over  immortality.  Heaven  is  made  up 
of  the  love  of  God.    . 

(3.)  Its  depth.  You  may  see  it  in  the  redemption 
of  your  soul  and  mine  from  the  ruin  into  which  we 
had  fallen.  We  were  deep  down  in  the  horrible 
pit;  his  great  unbounded  love  reached  down  and 
lifted  us  up,  and  placed  us  upon  the  rock  of  eternal 
ages.  It  lifts  the  drunkard  from  the  gutter,  the 
thief  and  the  murderer  from  their  wretchedness 
and  guilt.'    Aye,  it  reaches  the  worst  of  sinners. 

(4.)  Its  height.  It  raises  us  up  from  degradation 
most  deep  and  fearful,  to  a  life  of  happiness  and 
peace  on  earth,  and  to  a  glorious  heaven  of  inefiable 
love  and  glory  beyond  the  earth. 

4.  The  fourth  great  blessing  the  apostle  prayed 
for  was  a  knowledge  of  his  love.  It  is  important  to 
know  his  love  in  the  heart.     If  you  do,  you  will 


APPENDIX.  301 

consecrate  your  life,  your  all  to  his  service.  No 
sacrifice  will  be  too  great  for  you  to  make  that  you 
may  honor  and  glorify  him.  You  will  not  forsake 
his  house.  You  Avill  keep  the  world  under  your 
feet.  Christ  will  be  "  all  in  all "  to  you.  At  home 
or  abroad,  on  land  or  on  sea,  among  friends  or  foes, 
you  will  never  forget  the  love  of  God  that  saved 
you,  that  redeemed  you,  that  keeps  you. 

May  his  love  ever  dwell  richly  in  your  hearts 
through  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Amen. 

THE    MINISTERIAL    OFFICE. 
"I  magnify  mine  office."     Romans  11:13. 

The  faithful  minister  of  Christ  will  never  be 
found  speaking  of  himself  in  the  language  of  osten- 
tation or  self-importance.  Those  who  have  been 
most  distinguished  for  their  zeal  and  usefulness  in 
the  Christian  church  have  had  the  most  humble 
views  of  themselves,  as  is  evident  from  their  ex- 
pressions in  regard  to  their  felt  unworthiness  to  fill 
so  distinguished  an  office  as  that  of  a  minister  of 
Christ.  Especially  was  this  the  case  with  the 
apostle.  Distinguished  as  he  was  by  his  transcen- 
dent talents,  his  literary  attainments,  his  ardent 
piety,  his  labors,  privations  and  sufferings,  and  by 
his  unparalleled  success  in  preaching  the  gospel,  yet 
he  esteems  himself  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints, 
not  worthy  to  be  called  an  apostle.  Under  a  deep 
sense  of  his  own  unworthiness,  he  was  overwhelmed 
with  the  condescension  of  God  in  putting  him  in 


302  APPENDIX. 

the  ministry.  And  it  was  in  view  of  the  dignity 
and  importance  of  the  office  to  which  he  was  called 
that  he  uttered  the  language  of  the  text,  "I  magnify 
mine  office."  I  glory  in  it,  I  esteem  it  my  highest 
honor.  However  others  may  despise,  or  hate,  or 
account  the  preaching  of  the  cross  as  "  foolishness," 
he  was  not  ashamed  of  it,  but  gloried  in  the  blessed 
employment. 

I.  Permit  me,  my  brethren,  to  call  your  attention 
to  the  importance  and  dignity  of  the  ministerial 
office.  I  am  aware,  however,  that  for  us  to  speak 
of  the  dignity  of  the  office  may  excite  a  smile 
among  those  who  can  see  no  dignity  in  any  office 
or  situation  that  is  not  connected  with  the  pomp 
and  glitter  of  outward  appearance.  Independent 
of  every  other  consideration,  that  office  cannot 
be  mean  that  has  been  instituted  to  proclaim  the 
plan  of  redemption  which  had  its  origin  in  the 
divine  mind ;  for  nothing  short  of  infinite  wisdom, 
such  wisdom  as  God  alone  possesses,  could  have 
devised  such  a  plan  of  salvation  as  that  revealed  in 
the  gospel.  In  which  plan  all  the  attributes  of  the 
Deity  harmonize,  and  God  can  be  just  and  the 
justifier  of  all  who  believe.  To  make  known  to  a 
rebellious  world  this  divine  plan  of  reconciliation, 
is  a  work  of  dignity  and  importance.  That  office 
cannot  be  mean  that  the  Son  of  God  condescended 
to  bear,  for  the  word  which  we  preach  "  first  began 
to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord,"  and  while  he  sojourned 
upon  earth,  he  was  chiefly  employed  in  the  work  to 


APPENDIX.  303 

which  you  are  called.  That  office  cannot  be  mean, 
whose  end  is  the  recovery  of  man  to  his  original 
purity  and  happiness. 

1.  The  dignity  and  importance  of  the  office  will 
appear  from  the  several  names  and  titles,  by  which 
it  is  designated  in  the  word  of  God.  Those  who  bear 
the  sacred  office  are  called  ministers,  because  they 
are  the  servants  of  God  and  the  church;  and 
pastors,  because  they  are  called  to  perform  the 
pastoral  or  shepherd's  office.  Christ  says  to  them, 
Feed  my  lambs,  feed  my  sheep.  They  are  called 
bishops  as  having  oversight.  They  are  styled  em- 
bassadors, because  they  are  the  representatives  of 
the  King  of  heaven,  authorized  to  negotiate  between 
rebels  and  their  offended  Sovereign  "and  in  Christ's 
stead"  to  propose  to  their  fellow-sinners  a  treaty  of 
peace,  written  with  his  own  hand  and  sealed  with 
his  own  blood.  They  are  called  stewards  of  the 
mysteries  of  God,  because  intrusted  with  the  keys 
of  knowledge  and  discipline,  and  authorized  to  dis- 
pense divine  ordinances,  and  to  bring  out  of  their 
treasures,  things  new  and  old.  They  are  called 
watchmen  on  the  walls  of  Zion,  because  they  are 
to  sound  the  alarm  of  danger  and  to  watch  for  souls, 
as  they  that  must  give  account.  They  are  spoken 
of  as  angels  of  the  churches,  because  they  bear 
the  messages  of  the  living  God  to  dying  men.  O, 
how  important  is  this  relation  !  How  unspeakable 
the  honor  of  such  an  office !  The  honor  of  this 
office,  however,  is  not  that  of  the  world.     It  is  not 


304  APPENDIX. 

such  as  worldly  men  either  covet  or  appreciate.  It 
consists  not  in  external  pomp,  or  splendor,  or  wealth  ; 
not  in  dignities  and  titles  derived  from  an  unhal- 
lowed alliance  with  secular  power ;  nor  shining  in 
the  circles  of  fashion,  nor  in  filling  uppermost  seats, 
nor  receiving  greetings  in  the  market,  nor  in  being 
called  Rabbi.  No,  the  honor  of  the  faithful  minis- 
ter is  of  a  higher  and  nobler  kind.  It  consists  in 
bearing  a  resemblance  to  his  divine  Master  who 
went  about  doing  good.  The  jeAvels  which  shall 
decorate  his  crown  are  souls  saved  by  his  instru- 
mentality, who  shall  shine  as  stars  in  his  crown 
when  all  earthly  honors  shall  have  vanished  forever. 
2.  The  importance  of  the  ministerial  office  is 
manifest  from  its  powerful  influence  on  all  the 
best  interests  of  man  for  time  and  eternity.  An  en- 
lightened, pious,  and  devoted  ministry  such  as  the 
gospel  requires,  always  has  had  and  alwa3's  must 
have  the  happiest  influence  on  human  society. 
Look  at  the  world  around,  and  you  will  find  society 
elevated  or  degraded  according  to  the  ministers  of 
religion.  "  Like  priests  like  people  "  is  a  proverbial 
saying  founded  on  a  just  observation  of  facts.  What 
nations  are  most  distinguished  for  civilization,  in- 
telligence, and  refinement,  for  domestic  virtue  and 
social  order,  and  every  improvement  adapted  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  man  ?  Where  is  knowl- 
edge most  generally  diffused  ?  Where  do  schools, 
academies  and  colleges  most  flouri.sli  ?  Where  are 
the  liberties  and  the  rights  of  man  best  understood 


APPENDIX.  305 

and  maintained?  Precisely  in  those  nations  and 
communities  where  the  people  have  been  blessed 
with  the  labors  of  a  faithful  ministry ;  the  effect  has 
been  such  as  might  be  expected  from  a  general 
diffusion  of  the  pure  principles  of  the  gospel.  Look 
at  Scotland,  England,  and  the  United  States,  the 
land  of  the  Pilgrims,  as  contrasted  with  pagan  na- 
tions, and  with  nations  nominally  Christian  but 
destitute  of  an  enlightened,  faithful  ministry,  where 
ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion,  and  you  will 
readily  see  the  importance  of  the  ministerial  office. 
3.  But  it  is  principally  from  its  influence  on  the 
spiritual  and  eternal  welfare  of  mankind,  that  the 
gospel  ministry  derives  its  importance.  It  has 
"  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  to 
save  them  that  believe."  The  glory  of  God  in  the 
salvation  of  souls,  is  the  great,  the  supreme  object  of 
the  sacred  office.  And  who  can  compute  the  worth 
of  the  soul?  Endless  in  its  existence,  boundless  in 
its  capacity  of  improvement,  destined  to  ceaseless 
progression  in  happiness  or  woe.  Surely  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  soul  is  precious.  For  this  the  Son  of 
God  came  down  from  heaven,  and  expired  on  the 
cross.  We  are  not  redeemed  with  corruptible 
things,  as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ.  But  this  redemption  will  avail 
only  to  them  that  believe.  And  how  can  men 
believe  on  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard, 
"and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher"? 
However  useful  and  indispensable  other  instrumen- 


oOG  APPENDIX. 

talities  may  be,  the  living  teacher  mu!?t  necessarily 
accompany  thern,  to  give  energy  and  action  and 
direction  to  the  whole.  The  employment  of  the 
faithful  minister  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  and 
interesting  in  which  we  can  he  employed.  It  is 
adapted  to  call  forth  into  vigorous  action  all  our 
intellectual  powers,  to  exercise  every  grace  and 
virtue  and  generous  affection  of  the  heart.  Amidst 
all  the  difficulties,  toils,  privations,  and  sorrows 
which  attend,  there  are  pleasures  which  the  world 
cannot  give  or  take  away.  When  God  is  pleased 
to  bless  the  labors  of  a  faithful  minister — to  pour 
out  his  Spirit,  and  accompany  his  word  with  al- 
mighty power,  with  what  intense  interest  does  he 
witness  a  "  shaking  among  the  dry  bones ;"  stubborn 
sinners  pierced  to  the  heart  with  the  arroAVS  of  con- 
viction, crying  "What  must  we  do  to  be  saved?" 
anxious  crowds  thronging  the  way  to  Zion,  "  weep- 
ing as  they  go ;"  and  with  what  thrilling  delight 
does  he  share  the  joy  of  angels  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth.  How  intense  is  his  joy  when  he  directs 
the  trembling  penitent  to  the  world's  Redeemer, 
and  points  out  to  him  the  ability  of  Christ  to  save, 
and  when  the  penitent  looks,  believes,  and  is  saved, 
and  with  a  countenance  expressive  of  joy  unspeak- 
able, and  full  of  glory,  exclaims  : 

"  My  God  is  reconciled, 

His  pardoning-  voice  I  hear, 
He  owns  me  for  his  child, 
I  can  no  longer  fear." 


APPENDIX.  307 

At  such  a  time  how  does  the  heart  of  the  faithful 
minister  leap  for  joy,  and  how  thankful  to  God  he 
is  that  he  was  ever  thought  worthy  of  being  placed 
in  the  ministry. 

II.  We  are  now  to  consider  the  corresponding 
qualifications  and  duties  of  the  minister  of  the 
gospel. 

1,  Native  talent.  .This  I  mention  first  because 
it  is  fundamental.  Without  it  you  can  never,  by 
any  process,  become  strong  men.  Neither  education 
nor  grace  supplies  constitutional  defects.  A  man 
may  have  the  requisite  piety,  and  he  may  have  been 
favored  with  the  best  facilities  for  extended  culture, 
and  yet  not  possess  the  kind  or  measure  of  native 
talent  appropriate  to  a  work  so  formidable  and 
responsible  as  that  of  the  ministry. 

2.  He  should  be  a  man  of  practical  good  sense. 
Everyone  is  acquainted  with  ministers  of  talent, 
intelligence,  and  piety,  whose  influence  is  feeble  and 
who  can  never  accomplish  much  for  Zion,  because 
of  a  deficiency  of  that  indefinable,  yet  invaluable 
quality,  denominated  common  sense — an  element  of 
character  that  is  not  quite  as  common  as  its  name 
imports.  Nothing  is  a  substitute  for  it,  or  can  make 
up  for  its  absence.  Where  it  is  wanting,  respect 
and  confidence  are  wanting,  and  the  man's  influence 
is  almost  a  nullity.  Experience  has  taught  the 
church  some  lessons  upon  this  subject,  which  it  is 
undesirable  should  be  repeated,  and  the  question, 
"Has  he  good  sense?"  should  be  propounded  re. 


308  APPENDIX. 

specting  every  candidate  for  the  ministry.  Has  lie 
practical  wisdom  ?  Is  he  careful,  circumspect,  judi- 
cious? Is  he  one  whose  footsteps  may  safely  be 
trodden  by  his  successors,  and  whose  influence  none 
may  have  occasion  to  deplore  ?  The  man  who  dis- 
cards prudence  as  a  superfluity,  or  discretion  as  an 
incumbrance,  even  under  the  pretence  of  being 
guided  by  the  Spirit,  is  useful  nowhere  as  a 
minister. 

3.  Extensive  knowledge.  Lord  Bacon  said,  and 
so  parrot-like  have  said  a  million  others,  "Knowl- 
edge is  power."  Trite  as  may  be  the  expression  yet 
how  true  is  the  sentiment.  It  is  as  true  in  morals 
as  in  physics,  in  religion  as  in  philosophy,  in  the 
minister  of  Christ  as  in  the  artisan  or  the  statesman. 
We  would  not  prescribe  the  measure  of  the  knowl- 
edge necessary,  nor  how  or  Avhere  it  must  be 
acquired,  but  we  hesitate  not  to  say  that  other 
things  being  equal,  the  more  copious  the  intellectual 
acquirements  of  the  minister,  the  greater  the  ability 
to  do  good.  Talent  to  be  useful  must  be  cultivated ; 
the  mind  must  be  trained  and  disciplined,  and 
furnished  with  an  appropriate  fund  of  knowledge 
to  be  able  to  teach  others. 

It  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  that  literary 
attainments  are  desirable  if  not  absolutely  necessary 
to  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  There  is  no  branch  of 
knowledge  which  may  not  be  useful,  and  there  is 
much  that  is  indispensable.  Studies  apparently 
most  remote  from  theology  will  afford  much  assist- 


APPENDIX.  309 

ance  is  solving  difficulties  in  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
or  in  repelling  the  assaults  of  adversaries.  He  Avho 
would  approve  himself  as  a  scribe  richly  furnished, 
and  prepared  to  bring  out  of  his  treasures  things 
new  and  old,  must  be,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  a 
diligent,  persevering  student. 

Paul  himself,  though  a  giant  in  intellect,  brought 
up  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  and  well  versed  in  the 
literature  of  his  time,  did  not  cease  from  study  even 
in  his  old  age.  We  find  him  when  a  prisoner  at 
Rome  nearly  at  the  close  of  his  life,  sending  for  his 
books,  but  especially  his  parchments.  The  apostle's 
own  practice  again  explains  his  rule  to  embrace  the 
wide  field  of  general  study.  His  introduction  of 
heathen  aphorisms  in  the  illustration  or  application 
of  sacred  truth,  proves  that  he  apprehended  no  nec- 
essary debasement  of  its  purity  from  an  intermix- 
ture of  human  learning.  Stephen  mentions  it  to 
the  honor,  not  to  the  discredit  of  the  .Jewish  law- 
giver, that  he  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the 
Egyptians.  We  are  taught  by  St.  Paul's  epistles 
that  we  may  avail  ourselves  of  every  human  aid  to 
spread  the  blessings  of  the  gospel.  All  these 
human  aids  are  valuable  gifts  of  God  and  only 
cease  to  be  blessings  when  they  are  abused.  It  is 
true  that  the  gospel  may  be  preached  with  great 
energy  by  ministers  possessing  very  inconsiderable 
literary  attainments.  It  sometimes  happens  that 
the  most  successful  ministrations  are  conducted  by 
men  of  very  moderate  acquirements,  and  indeed  the 


310  APPENDIX. 

cliaraeter  of  the  gospel  seems  to  require  that  in 
most  cases  (where  the  true  doctrine  is  preached)  it 
should  give  more  honor  to  zeal  and  diligence  than 
to  genius  and  learning.  But  it  is  also  true  that 
God  is  pleased  to  make  himself  knoAvn  by  the  use 
of  cultured  means,  and  when  such  means  are  used 
in  subordination  to  his  grace,  he  will  honor  the 
means.  Let  us  then  honor  human  learning.  Every 
branch  of  knowlege  which  a  good  man  possesses,  he 
may  apply  to  some  useful  purpose.  If  he  possessed 
the  knowledge  of  an  archangel  he  might  apply  it 
all  to  the  advantage  of  man  and  the  glory  of  God. 
Many  of  us,  my  brethren,  who  in  the  early  years  of 
our  ministry  were  deprived  of  a  literary  training, 
owe  a  mighty  debt  of  gratitude  to  human  learning 
for  a  translation  of  the  Bible,  which  otherwise 
Avould  have  been  to  us  a  sealed  book,  a  dead  letter 
in  an  unknown  tongue.  Are  we  not  indebted  to  the 
same  source  for  the  explanation  of  its  difficulties^ 
and  for  many  powerful  defenses  of  its  authority, 
which  enable  us  to  meet  with  at  least  some  degree 
of  success  the  assaults  of  the  enemies  of  the  gospel, 
and  to  give  an  intelligent  reason  for  the  hope  that  is 
within  us? 

"  Give  attendance  to  reading,"  "  Study  to  show 
thyself  approved  unto  God,"  is  the  advice  given  by 
the  apostle.  To  Avhom?  To  a  novice,  or  a  young 
man  just  converted?  No,  but  to  a  convert  of 
many  years  standing,  who  had  been  blessed  from 
his  childhood  with  an  excellent  spiritual  education, 


APPENDIX.  311 

who  was  endowed  with  good  natural  talents  and  spir- 
itual gifts,  and  favored  with  pre-eminent  religious 
advantages  under  the  apostle's  personal  tuition,  and 
whose  early  elevation  in  the  church  showed  a  satis- 
factory improvement  of  his  privileges.  Such  advice 
given  to  an  elder  under  such  circumstances,  and  in 
an  age  of  inspiration,  carries  with  it  the  weight  of 
authority,  and  should  serve  as  a  rebuke  for  negli- 
gence under  our  comparative  disadvantages. 

Brethren,-  look  out  upon  the  fields  of  science  and 
theology  spread  out  before  you  for  exploration  and 
occupancy,  and  apply  yourselves  to  the  acquisition 
of  all  the  knowledge  you  can  attain  to  fit  you  for 
the  great  work  of  saving  souls  and  building  up 
the  church  of  God.  "  But  remember  after  all  that 
the  Bible  should  be  considered  your  principal  text- 
book, and  should  be  carefully  read  and  studied,  that 
you  may  bring  from  its  rich  treasures  the  precious 
truths  of  life,  and  from  its  crystal  fountains  the 
waters  of  salvation,  with  which  to  irrigate  and 
fertilize  the  heritage  of  the  Lord,"  If  there  ever  was 
a  time  when  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  should  be 
like  Apollos  "  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,"  and  thus 
be  able  to  stand  up  in  the  defense  of  the  plain,  the 
pure  and  unadulterated  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
religion,  it  is  now. 

Infidelity  is  not  dead,  it  is  alive  and  active,  but 
masked.  It  is  no  less  hostile  to  the  pure  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  now  than  heretofore,  but  has  simply 
changed  its  mode  of  attack.     It  even  subscribes  to 


312  APPENDIX. 

the  Christian  scriptures,  but  puts  an  entirely  new 
gloss  upon  them,  and  by  philosophizing  would 
make  them  teach  another  religion — a  religion  un- 
known to  the  apostles,  the  fathers,  and  church 
general.  There  is  also  latitudinarian  liberalism 
Avhich  is  in  fact  treason  against  the  truth,  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  present  age.  It  is  seen  in  this 
country,  it  is  seen  in  Europe.  It  permeates  our  jour- 
nalism, our  politics,  our  theology.  It  is  more  dan- 
gerous and  more  mischievous  than  open  infidelity. 
It  smiles  with  fawning  obsequiousness  on  all,  and 
frowns  on  none  but  the  man  who  contends  ear- 
nestly "for  the  faith  which  was  once  delivered  unto 
the  saints."  In  proportion  as  men  recede  from 
"sound  doctrine,"  they  sap  the  very  foundation  of 
personal  godliness,  lower  the  tone  of  morality,  and 
enfeeble  the  exercise  of  Christian  benevolence. 
This  liberalism,  as  it  is  called,  is  advocated  by  some 
of  the  most  popular  teachers  of  our  day,  encouraged 
by  some  of  the  most  extensively  circulated  and 
popular  journals  of  the  country.  A  religion,  there- 
fore, must  rise  under  these  last  touchings  and 
finishings  of  art,  where  infidels  may  be  received 
into  the  church  without  conversion,  or  where 
they  may  be  converted  with  scarcely  a  perceptible 
change  in  doctrine,  heart,  or  life ;  where  the  thought- 
less, and  the  gay,  and  the  beautiful,  and  the 
dissipated,  may  float  together  down  the  stream,  to 
the  sound  of  music,  and  drink  the  Lethean  cup, 
and  wake  not  till  in  perdition  they  are  heard  to 


APPENDIX.  313 

exclaim,  "  I  am  tormented  in  this  flame."  Breth- 
ren, ''let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly,"  for 
it  is  the  "  two  edged  word,"  the  word  of  the  living 
God,  which  being  accompanied  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
can  overcome  the  influences  exerted  by  these  open 
and  secret  enemies  of  the  truth. 

4.  Another  qualification  is  piety.  For  the  lack 
of  this,  no  talents,  however  [brilliant  or  attractive, 
can  compensate.  It  is  expected  that  he  who  would 
engage  in  the  holy  work  of  the  ministry,  be  a 
Christian,  that  he  have  for  himself  and  furnish 
to  others  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  of  a  spirit- 
ual union  with  the  Savior.  If  serious  doubts 
exist  on  this  point,  whether  in  his  own  mind  or  in 
the  minds  of  others,  his  ability  to  do  good  will  be 
essentially  crippled.  Let  the  man  therefore  who 
would  be  a  minister,  ask  this  question  as  the  ante- 
cedent of  every  other  inquiry — Am  I  a  Christian  ? 
Without  "  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  re- 
newing of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  how  can  the  man 
discharge  the  great  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  ?  I 
speak  not  here  of  this  great  and  essential  change 
merely  as  a  personal  concern  of  the  deepest  interest, 
nor  of  the  meanness  and  drudgery  and  wickedness 
of  hypocritical  services,  nor  of  the  dreadful  condi- 
tion of  that  man,  who  after  preaching  to  others, 
shall  himself  be  a  castaway  forever.  I  speak  of 
it  as  a  qualification  for  the  ministerial  office.  With- 
out this,  how  can  he  speak  or  act  for  God;  how 
feel  for  ihe  glory  of  Christ,  or  take  a  lively  interest 


314  APPENDIX. 

in  the  salvation  of  souls?  (an  he  be  concerned  for 
the  salvation  of  others,  who  neglects  his  own  ?  How 
difficult  as  well  as  dreadful  to  preach  an  unknown 
Savior !  He  may  study  and  understand  the  doc- 
trines of  religion  as  a  theory.  He  may  defend 
the  truth  against  its  adversaries.  He  may  expound 
the  Scriptures  as  a  biblical  critic.  He  may  make 
a  display  in  the  pulpit  "as  one  who  has  a  pleasant 
voice,  and  can  play  well  upon  an  instrument." 
But  how  can  he  preach  with  interest,  truths  which 
he  does  not  practically  believe,  or  urge  motives  he 
does  not  feel  ?  How  shall  he  direct  the  anxious, 
the  inquiring  soul  ?  How  feed  the  sheep  and  the 
lambs  ?  How  comfort  others  with  the  consolations 
whereof  he  is  not  himself  comforted?  Nor  is  it 
enough  for  a  minister  to  be  a  man  of  piety ;  he 
ought  to  be  a  man  of  fervent  piety — burning  with 
zeal  for  his  Master,  "  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  The  tone  of  piety  in  the  church  will 
usually  accord  with  that  of  the  minister.  There 
cannot  be  a  greater  curse  to  the  church  and  to 
society  than  a  lifeless,  ungodly  ministry.  Wherever 
it  is  found,  a  blighting  and  withering  influence 
attends  it. 

How  many  and  sad  are  the  lessons  taught  us  by 
the  history  of  the  church  as  to  the  great  evils 
arising  from  an  unconverted  ministry.  How 
sadly  the  Jewish  church  suffered  from  false  proph- 
ets. It  was  an  unconverted  apostle  that  betrayed 
the  Lord  of  glory.     For  how  many  years  were  the 


APPENDIX.  315 

boasted  successors  of  the  apostles  the  vilest  of  men. 
And  how  even  now  in  Europe  the  lowest  infidelity 
is  decked  in  the  robes  of  the  ministry.  In  Eng- 
land, the  merest  worldlings,  because  second  or 
subsequent  sons  of  the  gentry,  are  promoted  to 
church  benefices,  and  in  our  own  country  in  com- 
munions regarded  as  evangelical,  an  unsanctified 
ministry  often  proves  a  curse  to  the  people  among 
whom  they  mingle.  "  Be  ye  clean  that  bear  the 
vessels  of  the  Lord."  "  Be  blameless  and  harmless, 
the  sons  of  God,  without  rebuke,  in  the  midst  of  a 
crooked  and  perverse  nation."  Be  "ensamples  to 
the  flock,"  of  which  the  Holy  Ghost  may  make 
you  overseers.  Be  patterns  of  good  works.  How 
important  the  caution  of  the  apostle.  Take  heed  to 
yourselves,  to  thyself,  for  how  awful  is  it  to  appear 
as  a  minister  without  being  a  Christian.  How  diffi- 
cult, how  dreadful  to  preach  an  unknown  Christ. 
Baxter  remarks,  "  Verily  it  is  a  dreadful  calamity 
for  the  church  to  have  unregenerate  and  inconsist- 
ent pastors ;  and  to  have  men  to  become  preachers 
before  they  become  Christians,  and  to  be  sanctified 
by  dedication  at  the  altar  as  God's  ministers  before 
they  are  sanctified  by  hearty  dedication  to  Christ  as 
his  disciples,  and  so  to  worship  an  unknown  God, 
and  to  preach  an  unknown  Christ,  an  unknown 
Spirit,  an  unknown  holiness  and  communion  with 
God,  and  a  peace  that  is  unknown  and  likely  to  be 
unknown  forever.  Surely  he  is  likely  to  be  a  heart- 
less preacher  that  has  not  the  Christ  and  grace  that 


816  APPENDIX. 

he  preaches  to  others  in  his  own  heart."  Remember 
3'ou  are  ministers  of  a  holy  God.  You  hold  in  3'our 
hand  a  holy  revelation.  Give  no  offense  in  any- 
thing, that  the  ministry  be  not  blamed.  Abstain 
not  only  from  that  which  is  positively  evil,  but 
"  from  all  appearance  of  evil."  A  minister  should 
be  as  Caesar  wished  his  wife  to  be — above  suspicion. 
This,  my  brethren,  is  an  awfully  important  thought 
— that  the  minister  for  the  want  of  experimental 
and  practical  holiness  may  lose  his  soul  after  all 
his  labors.  He  may  indeed  occupy  the  place  of  a 
minister,  and  perhaps  do  some  good  in  the  world 
and  yet  be  destitute  of  piety.  God  may  restrain  him 
from  overt  sins,  his  religious  education  and  enlight- 
ened conscience,  his  habits  of  application,  and  his 
intellectual  orthodoxy  may  accomplish  something 
toward  supplying  deficiencies  of  imparted  grace ;  his 
attainments  as  a  scholar  and  his  power  over  the 
minds  of  men  as  a  teacher  may  render  his  work 
somewhat  pleasant,  while  his  pride  of  character,  if 
he  be  a  hypocrite,  and  his  false  hopes  if  he  be  a  self- 
deluded  man,  may  give  buoyancy  to  his  mind 
which  shall  induce  him  to  fulfill  his  ministry  to 
the  last.  Yet  all  the  while  he  may  live  and  die  an 
ungodly  man.  His  church  may  mourn  over  him 
when  he  sleeps  in  the  dust,  his  fellow-laborers  in 
the  work  of  God  may  stand  around  his  grave  and 
say,  Alas,  my  brother !  and  many  an  honest  pane- 
gyric may  be  uttered  in  commendation  of  his 
literary  attainments  and  his  brilliancy  as  a  pulpit 


APPENDIX.  317 

orator,  Avhile  he  himself  is  lifting  his  eyes  in  hell, 
being  in  torment.  He  has  appeared  in  the  presence 
of  his  Judge  and  uttered  that  last  plea  of  a  ground- 
less hope,  "Have  I  not  prophesied  in  thy  name?" 
but  he  has  received  the  final  answer,  "  Depart  from 
me,  I  never  knew  you."  If  we  should  weep  while  we 
thus  speak,  perhaps  there  are  those  who  would  not 
sympathize  with  us.  Yet  who  would  not  weep? 
0,  is  there  one  of  all  the  race  of  Adam  more  to  be 
pitied  than  such  a  minister  ?  With  all  its  dregs 
of  woe,  he  must  drain  the  bitter  cup  of  agony,  and 
taste  all  the  bitterness  of  death.  He  perhaps  saved 
others,  himself  he  did  not  save.  He  who  wept  over 
Jerusalem,  I  am  sure,  were  he  on  earth,  would  weep 
over  such  a  man.  Could  angels  weep,  they  would 
flood  the  pulpit  of  such  a  minister  with  tears.  None, 
none  but  the  veriest  devils  could  be  indifferent  to 
such  a  doom.  Yet  there  have  been  and  are  such 
ministers.  0,  that  we  might  be  more  faithful  to 
our  own  souls ;  that  we  might  be  more  faithful  to 
one  another,  love  one  another  more,  and  pray  for 
one  another,  lest  we  come  to  that  place  of  torment. 
It  is  a  sacred  office  which  the  embassador  of  the 
cross  holds ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  it  which  will 
save  from  hell  if  we  be  destitute  of  experimental 
and  practical  piety. 

III.     The  duties  of  the  ministerial  office. 

1.  To  preach.  For  this  you  have  been  called, 
qualified,  and  sent  forth.  What  should  you  preach  ? 
"  Preach  the  word."     God  says,  "  Preach  the  preach- 


318  APPENDIX. 

ing  I  bid  thee."  Preach  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ,  not  the  husks  of  old  speculations  and 
arid  dogmas;  not  the  chaff  of  human  philosophy, 
fluttering  its  brief  hour  amid  the  changing  winds 
of  opinion ;  not  the  debris  of  outward  forms  and 
vain  superstitions,  gathered  from  the  dust  of  the 
dark  ages ;  but  the  simple  gospel  of  Christ,  quick- 
ened by  the  breath  of  the  Almighty,  and  lodged  as  a 
living  power  in  throbbing  human  hearts.  This  is 
what  each  man  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  "  needs. 
This  is  what  the  world,  hoary  with  guilt,  needs  for 
its  renovation.  In  the  Bible  there  is  knowledge  for 
the  head,  experience  for  the  heart,  and  a  rule  of 
practice  for  the  life. 

2.  How  preach  the  word?  Preach  faithfully, 
zealously,  patiently,  perseveringly,  seriously,  and 
affectionately. 

My  brethren,  in  conclusion,  let  me  add  that  in 
order  to  be  successful  in  your  work,  there  must  be 
the  exercise  of  strong  faith.  Upon  this  principle, 
as  an  element  of  moral  influence,  the  Savior,  when 
teaching  his  disciples,  constantly  insisted,  and  he 
availed  himself  of  every  fitting  occasion  to  summon 
it  into  lively  exercise.  If  opportunity  offered  for 
the  relief  of  suffering  by  miracle,  he  proposed  to 
them  the  inquiry,  "  Believe  ye  that  I  am  able  to  do 
this  ?"  When  the  disciples  failing  in  their  attempts 
to  expel  a  demon,  asked  him  to  explain  the  cause  of 
their  failure,  he  simply  replied,  "  Because  of  your 
unbelief."    And  liow  strongly  did  he  assure  them  of 


APPENDIX.  319 

the  wonders  they  should  perform  if  they  only  had 
faith  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed.  "  All  things 
are  possible  to  him  that  believeth."  He  who  be- 
lieves anything  can  be  done  is  generally  the  man  to 
do  it ;  for  his  faith  calls  forth  his  latent  energies  and 
enables  him  to  achieve  results  which,  without  faith, 
would  be  impracticable.  In  all  the  camp  of  Saul 
there  was  not  a  veteran  who  could  safely  have  en- 
countered the  champion  of  the  Philistines,  for  not  a 
man  of  the  host  had  faith  in  God  sufficient  to  brace 
up  his  courage  and  nerve  his  right  arm  for  the  con- 
flict. Such  faith  was  found  only  in  the  youthful 
shepherd,  and  as  he  believed,  so  he  proceeded.  His 
confidence  lifted  him  above  the  fear  of  peril  that 
made  the  sternest  warriors  quake,  and  called  forth 
his  inward  energies  to  one  sublime  effort,  and  the 
headless  trunk  of  his  mighty  antagonist  soon  lay 
stretched  in  the  valley  which  had  rung  with  his 
boastings.  See  the  triumphs  of  faith  as  presented 
in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  Paul  knew  by  what 
he  had  seen  and  felt  that  faith  gives  to  the  mind 
nerve,  steadiness,  and  onward  force.  "  This  is 
the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our 
faith."  A  timid  child  in  company  with  his  father, 
as  long  as  he  feels  the  warm  pressure  of  the  paternal 
hand,  will  walk  confidently  through  pathless 
forests  or  on  the  brink  of  a  precipice.  So  the  minis- 
ter of  Christ  with  simple  reliance  upon  the  promises 
of  God,  will  press  his  way  through  difficulties  and 
dangers  most  appalling,  and  will  triumphantly  ex- 


320  APPENDIX. 

claim,  "  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  thou  art  with  me." 
What  could  the  first  preachers  of  Christianity  have 
accomplished  without  it  ?  What  but  confidence  in 
their  Master's  promise  and  presence  could  have 
given  them  such  heroic  boldness,  such  indomitable 
courage,  such  unfaltering  perseverance,  such  power 
of  endurance  ?  Sustained  by  it  they  did  and  sufiered 
what  impostors  could  never  have  done  or  sufiered. 
They  were  men  that  hazarded  their  lives  for  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  was  their  unfailing 
suppdrt.  This  unfaltering  faith  in  the  divine  prom- 
ises made  them  strong,  so  that  with  great  power  gave 
they  witness,  and  thrones  trembled,  idols  were  cast 
down,  and  truth  and  holiness  were  welcomed  by 
liberated  thousands.  Faith  is  the  link  which 
connects  the  impotence  of  the  creature  with  the 
omnipotence  of  Jehovah,  so  that  the  creature  is  en- 
couraged to  attempt  the  greatest  things,  even  though 
conscious  of  personal  inability  to  do  the  least  things. 
Faith  lays  hold  of  a  strong  Christ,  and  lying  low 
and  looking  high  the  minister  declares,  "  When  I 
am  Aveak  then  am  I  strong."  Thus  allied  to  the 
mighty  he  is  endued  with  power,  and  he  can  meet 
unmoved  the  shock  of  any  trial.  For  as  Arch- 
bishop Leigh  ton  says,  the  firmest  thing  in  this 
world  is  a  believing  soul,  and  he  can  execute  any 
service,  however  difiUcult.  It  is  faith  that  enables 
him  to  say,  "I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  who 
strengtheneth  me." 


APPENDIX.  321 

'  O,  for  a  faith  that  will  not  shrink, 

Though  pressed  by  every  foe, 
That  will  not  tremble  on  the  brink 

Of  any  earthly  woe. 
That  will  not  murmur  nor  complain 

Beneath  the  chastening  rod, 
But  in  the  hour  of  grief  or  pain 

Will  lean  upon  its  God." 

DISPUTES   AMONG    CHRISTIANS. 

[Preached  by  Bishop  Glossbrenner  before  the  General  Con- 
ference convened  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  May  15,  1873.] 

' '  What  was  it  that  ye  disputed  among  yourselves  ? ' '    Mark  9 :  33. 

Brethren,  members  of  the  General  Conference, 
representatives  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ: 
If  we  address  you  to-day  with  the  same  plainness 
of  speech  which  Ave  are  accustomed  to  use  when 
addressing  the  laity,  we  trust  you  will  receive  what 
we  shall  say  as  coming  from  one  who  has  no  other 
end  in  view  but  the  glory  of  God  and  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  that  branch  of  God's  zion  which  we 
to-day  represent. 

The  Apostle  Paul  speaks  of  easily  besetting  sin. 
What  he  refers  to  may  be  the  sin  of  our  constitu- 
tion, the  sin  of  our  trade ;  that  in  which  our  worldly 
honor,  secular  profits,  and  sensual  gratifications  are 
most  frequently  felt  and  consulted.  The  minister  of 
Christ  is  not  an  exception  to  the  general  rule ;  and 
we  trust  you  will  not  be  startled  at  the  declaration 
that  spiritual  ambition  is  the  besetting  sin  of  the 
ministerial  profession.  It  is  not  meant  that  the  laity 
are  free  from  the  vice  which  we  have  designated 
21 


322  APPENDIX. 

US  especially  besetting  the  ministry,  for  there  are  in 
many  congregations  laymen  who  are  often  more 
anxious  for  their  own  consequence  than  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  church ;  more  proud  of  what  they 
have  done  for  the  church  than  humble  in  view  of 
their  sins ;  more  concerned  for  their  own  glory  than 
for  the  glory  of  God.  Nor  do  Ave  mean  to  imply  that 
the  evangelical  clergy  of  our  dav  and  land  are  worse 
than  the  clergy  of  other  ages  and  of  other  climes, 
nor  that  they  are  inferior  in  holiness  of  heart  and  life 
to  the  people  to  whom  they  minister,  for  we  seriously 
doubt  whether  there  ever  was  in  any  age,  on  the 
whole,  a  body  of  ministers  superior  to  the  Protestant 
clergy  of  our  country.  Yet  our  proposition  is  true. 
The  politician  is  exposed  to  one  kind  of  temptation, 
the  merchant  to  another,  the  man  of  leisure  to  a 
third,  and  the  poor  laborer  has  his  grievous  besetting 
sin.  But  the  fearful  temptation,  the  besetting  sin  of 
the  ministerial  profession,  we  believe  is  spiritual 
ambition. 

The  profession  of  a  minister  secures  him  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  from  the  danger  of  many  of  the 
coarser  and  more  animal  sins.  I  know  there  are  some 
terrible  examples  in  every  branch  of  the  Christian 
church,  which  have  made  the  lovers  of  zion  sick  at 
heart,  showing  that  the  coarsest  and  vilest  sins  may 
for  a  time  be  covered  by  the  mantle  of  hypocrisy  in 
the  ministry.  But  the  disgust  and  anguish  with 
which  the  grieved  church  expels  them  from  her 
bosom  shows  that  such  sins  are  felt  to  be  unnatural, 


APPENDIX.  323 

even  monstrous.  When  such  cases  occur  we  shudder, 
and  ask  the  question,  Are  these  gross  acts  of  im- 
morality common  among  the  ministry?  Bitter 
tears  fall  from  the  eyes  of  God's  children  over  a 
desecration  so  awful ;  and  we  almost  feel  as  though 
the  days  of  demoniacal  possession  had  returned,  and 
God  had  allowed  Satan  in  triumph  to  plunge  his 
victims  in  the  festering  sloughs  of  pollution. 
No,  no;  God  is  merciful.  The  ministry  as  a  class 
have  not  so  far  fallen.  These  are  not  the  besetting 
sins  of  the  ministry.  Such  degradation  only  exists 
among  the  ministry,  as  a  rule,  in  those  lands  where 
doctrine  is  first  debased;  where  truth  falls  in  the 
streets,  and  people  and  priests  are  sunk  together  in 
gross  moral  pollution;  where  darkness  worse  than 
Egyptian  broods  over  the  entire  land,  and  every 
department  of  society  bears  witness  that  the  "  whole 
head  is  sick  and  the  whole  heart  faint." 

The  minister  in  America  occupies  in  many  re- 
spects a  sheltered  position.  He  is  girt  around 
by  a  wholesome  moral  sentiment.  The  virtues 
of  his  predecessors  and  his  contemporaries  in  office 
have  created  an  impression  that  he  ought  to  be 
a  man  of  God  in  moral  character,  in  exclusive 
devotion  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  in  purity,  in 
zeal,  in  charity,  in  kindness.  And  we  bless  God 
that  it  is  so.  Yet,  my  brethren,  it  is  true  that 
he  may  be  exempt  from  the  terrible  sins  which 
would  bring  disgrace  upon  himself  and  sorrow 
to  his  brethren,  and  yet   not  be  free  from   the  sin 


32J:  APPENDIX. 

of  spiritual  ambition,  and  rush  upon  the  avenues 
that  are  still  open.  No  eye  of  man  is  upon  the 
heart,  no  mind  is  privy  to  its  secret  musings.  To 
rise  in  the  church,  to  gain  extensive  influence,  to 
control  ecclesiastical  judicatories,  to  attain  high 
literary  distinction,  to  become  the  center  of  admir- 
ing assemblies, — these  are  all  within  the  minister's 
grasp  without  an  action  which  perhaps  Avould  ever 
be  known  to  be  contrary  to  his  Christian  profession. 
The  tempter  may  whisper,  low  at  first  and  then 
louder,  that  talents  such  as  he  possesses  are  too  much 
confined  in  obscurity.  And  in  foolish  and  wicked 
musings  like  these  he  wastes  the  time  his  Savior  has 
given  him  to  work  in,  forgetting  that  he  has  placed 
him  in  an  appropriate  position,  and  will  say,  with- 
out the  necessity  of  any  writhings  and  struggles  of 
vanity,  when  the  time  arrives,  "  Friend,  come  up 
higher." 

"This  propensity  to  spiritual  ambition  is  strength- 
ened by  the  minister's  studies.  All  literature  is  full 
of  it.  Even  Christian  literature  is  full  of  it.  You 
hear  it  in  sermons.  It  lurks  in  commentaries.  In 
all  other  literature  it  appears  without  measure  and 
without  stint."  "  The  volumes  that  occupy  those 
shelves  in  your  study,  and  that  look  down  upon 
you  from  day  to  day,  till  they  have  become  your 
cherished  friends  and  companions,  venerable  for 
their  piety,  instructive  for  their  information,  amus- 
ing for  their  wit,  half  worshiped  for  their  lofty 
intellect,   almost   every   one   contains   this  poison ; 


APPENDIX.  325 

almost  every  one  feeds  your  ambition  and  fosters 
your  pride.  Only  one  is  entirely  free — pure  in  pro- 
portion to  its  greatness,  humbling  in  proportion  to  its 
unapproachable  elevation — that  is  the  Bible."  This 
sin,  spiritual  ambition,  appears  to  have  been  the  evil 
for  which  the  Savior  called  his  disciples  to  account. 
I.  That  we  must  all  expect  to  be  called  to  an 
account  by  our  divine  Master. 

1.  We  are  all  now  professedly  in  the  way,  follow- 
ing Christ  as  our  teacher,  our  example,  our  guide. 
Here  we  are  upon  trial ;  this  is  our  probation ;  and 
it  concerns  us  therefore  that  what  we  have  to  do  we 
should  do  while  in  the  way,  and  so  do  it  that  at 
the  end  we  may  be  approved  by  the  Master. 

2.  There  will  be  a  review  of  what  occurs  in  the 
way,  for  "  God  shall  bring  every  work  into  judgment, 
with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good  or 
whether  it  be  evil."  All  will  be  produced  as  evi- 
dence for  or  against  us. 

3.  The  account  must  be  given  to  our  Lord  Jesus, 
for  we  call  him  Master  and  Lord  as  the  disciples  did ; 
and  to  him  we  are  accountable  as  scholars  and  ser- 
vants, how  we  spend  our  time.  He  is  our  judge,  for 
"  The  Lord  is  our  lawgiver,"  and  to  him  the  Father 
hath  committed  all  judgment.  For  "he  will  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he 
hath  ordained." 

Now  this  is  a  good  reason — 

(1.)  Why  we  should  judge  ourselves  and  prove  our 
own  work,  and  see  that  our  matters  be  right  and 
good  against  that  day. 


326  APPENDIX. 

(2.)  It  is  a  good  reason  why  we  should  not  judge 
one  another,  or  be  severe  in  our  censures  one  of 
another.  We  thereby  invade  Christ's  throne,  for  it 
is  his  prerogative  to  call  his  disciples  to  an  account  ; 
and  though  he  designed  them  to  be  one  another's 
helpers,  he  never  intended  they  should  be  one 
another's  judges.  "We  shall  all  stand  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  Christ,"  and  therefore  must  not 
judge  one  another.  "Who  art  thou  that  judgest 
another  man's  servant?  to  his  own  master  he 
standeth  or  falleth."  Each  one  of  us  must  give  an 
account  of  himself  to  God. 

II.  Among  other  things  that  we  must  give  an 
account  of  is,  what  we  have  talked  among  ourselves. 
We  are  apt  to  make  a  light  matter  of  this,  as 
though  words  were  too  insignificant  to  be  taken 
notice  of  by  Him  who  is  to  be  our  judge,  forgetting 
his  saying,  "By  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified,  and 
by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned."  Sometimes 
when  we  have  talked  at  random  what  comes  upper- 
most without  regard  to  God  or  man,  we  think  to  turn 
it  off  with  an  excuse  that  it  was  but  talk,  and  "words 
are  but  wind;"  but  we  wretchedly  mistake,  and 
terribly  cheat  ourselves  if  that  be  true  which  our 
Savior  said — and  true  undoubtedly  it  is — that  not 
only  for  every  profane  and  wicked  word,  for  every 
false  and  spiteful  word,  but  for  "  every  idle  word 
that  men  shall  speak,"  they  must  give  account  in 
the  day  of  judgment.  Nay,  and  so  shall  their  doom 
be  according  as  they  have  talked  while  in  the  way. 


APPENDIX.  327 

Christ  does  take  notice  of  our  words ;  and  we  should 
speak  while  here  as  his  ministers,  representing  as 
we  do  a  portion  of  his  beloved  zion,  as  though  we 
heard  him  saying  to  us  as  he  said  to  the  two 
disciples  going  to  Emmaus,  "  What  manner  of 
communications  are  these  that  ye  have  one  to 
another?"  Should  we  not  be  very  careful,  my 
brethren,  that  our  speech  be  always  "  with  grace, 
seasoned  with  salt,"  that  it  may  be  "good  to  the 
use  of  edifying,  that  it  may  minister  grace  "  to  those 
who  hear  us?  We  should  be  careful  that  we  do 
not  say  that  which  must  be  unsaid  by  repentance. 
What  we  talk  among  ourselves  with  the  usual 
freedom  of  conversation,  we  do  not  expect  to 
hear  again,  and  we  allow  ourselves  great  liberty. 
Remember,  there  are  tale-bearers  and  mischief- 
makers  who  take  pleasure  in  revealing  what  you 
have  said,  and  thus  stir  up  strife  and  contention  ; 
but  whether  it  is  thus  called  up  by  tale-bearers  or 
not,  it  will  not  escape  the  cognizance  or  judgment 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  we  talk  anything  that 
is  good  among  ourselves  to  the  use  of  edifying, 
Christ  takes  notice  of  that,  and  we  shall  hear  of 
it  again  to  our  comfort  in  that  day  when  those  who 
thus  confess  Christ  before  men  shall  be  owned  by 
him,  before  his  Father  and  his  holy  angels.  When 
those  "  that  feared  the  Lord  spoke  often  one  to 
another  "  for  their  mutual  comfort  and  encourage- 
ment to  hold  fast  to  their  integrity  in  a  time  of 
general  apostasy,  the  Lord  hearkened  and  heard  it, 


328  APPENDIX. 

and  "  a  book  of  remembrance  was  written"  for  them, 
in  which  were  entered  all  those  pious  conferences  of 
them  that  "  feared  the  Lord  and  that  thought  upon 
his  name ;"  and  the  day  will  come  when  that  book 
will  be  opened.  There  is  not  a  good  word  coming 
from  a  good  heart,  and  directed  to  a  good  end,  but  it 
is  heard  in  secret  and  shall  be  rewarded  openly, 
even  though  there  may  be  those  who  now  ridicule 
such  a  thought. 

If  we  talk  anything  that  is  ill  among  ourselves ; 
if  "  any  evil  communication  "  proceeds  out  of  our 
mouths,  calculated  to  corrupt  the  mind  and  man- 
ners of  others,  Christ  observes  that  too,  and  will 
manifest  his  displeasure,  and  we  shall  hear  of  it 
again,  either  by  the  checks  of  our  own  consciences 
in  order  to  our  repentance,  or  at  the  day  of  "  the 
revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God,"  when 
according  to  Enoch's  prophecy,  the  Lord  will  come 
to  reckon  with  sinners,  not  only  for  all  their  un- 
godly deeds,  but  for  all  their  hard  speeches.  It 
will  be  asked  sooner  or  later  what  you  said  in 
such  a  company,  proudly,  vainly,  filthily;  why 
you  gave  yourselves  to  foolish  talking  and  jesting, 
when  your  words  should  have  been  "like  apples 
of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver;"  what  it  was  that 
you  said  in  the  general  convocation  of  your 
ministerial  brethren  when  3'ou  sat  deliberately,  sat 
magisterially,  and  spoke  against  your  brother  whose 
good  name  you  should  have  protected.  Think,  my 
brethren,  that  a  l)ird  of  the  air  may  carry  what  you 


APPENDIX.  329 

have  said  to  the  ears  of  some  who  you  hoped 
would  never  hear  your  uncharitable  and  unkind 
speech. 

Let  this  consideration  oblige  us  all  to  take  heed 
to  our  ways,  that  we  offend  not  with  our  tongue, 
and  to  keep  our  mouth  as  it  were  with  a  bridle, 
that  we  may  say  nothing  but  what  we  can  bear  to  be 
told  of  again.  And  we  have  need  to  beg  of  God 
that  by  his  grace  he  would  set  a  watch  before  the 
door  of  our  lips,  a  double  watch  upon  the  door  of 
our  hearts,  out  of  which  the  mouth  speaks,  that 
nothing  may  proceed  from  them  to  his  dishonor. 

III.  As  our  other  discourses  by  the  way  will 
have  to  be  accounted  for,  so  especially  will  we  be 
called  to  account  for  our  disputes  among  ourselves. 
We  are  not  to  infer  from  the  language  of  Christ 
that  all  disputation  is  sinful.  Neither  are  we  to 
infer  that  disputation  always  results  in  evil,  or  is 
unprofitable.  The  Savior  himself  declared  that  he 
was  about  his  Father's  business,  when  he  had 
been"  in  the  temple,  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors, 
hearing  them  and  asking  them  questions.  The 
ministry  of  our  Lord,  in  one  sense,  was  a  perpetual 
controversy.  St.  Paul's  epistles  are,  most  of  them, 
controversial.  The  apostles  came  at  truth  by  "much 
disputing"  among  themselves,  (Acts  15:7),  and 
they  convinced  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  by  disputing 
with  both.  (Acts  17:17;  19  : 8.)  There  are  disputes 
that  are  of  use  and  are  profitable,  and  should  be 
encouraged,  and  for  which  we  shall  have  no  cause  to 


330  APPENDIX. 

be  ashamed  when  we  shall  be  called  to  account  by 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

If  wo  dispute  for  the  convincing  of  atheists  and 
deists,  and  other  enemies  of  our  hoh'  religion,  or 
for  the  confirmation  of  those  who  were  in  danger  of 
being  led  astray  by  their  delusions;  if  we  "earnestly 
contend  for  the  faith  which  was  once  delivered  unto 
the  saints,"  and  with  meekness  and  fear  both  in- 
struct others  that  "  oppose  themselves,"  and  give  a 
reason  for  our  own  hope  that  is  in  us;  if  we  fairl)^ 
and  calmly  discuss  lesser  matters  between  us  and 
our  brethren,  that  we  may  find  out  the  truth,  and 
have  our  mistakes  rectified,  or  if  we  cannot  thereby 
come  to  be  of  the  same  mind,  that  yet  we  may  see 
that  even  those  we  differ  from  may  have  so  much 
color  of  reason  on  their  side  as  that  they  may  still 
differ  from  us  and  yet  not  forfeit  their  reputation 
either  for  wisdom  or  piety ;  if  we,  with  prudence  and 
mildness,  debate  our  cause  with  our  brother  himself, 
and  go  not  forth  hastily  to  strife;  if  we  tell  him  his 
fault  between  us  and  him  alone,  l^efore  we  tell  it  to 
the  world  or  to  the  church,  in  order  to  a  friendly 
accommodation, — these  are  disputes  which  will  pass 
well  in  the  account,  when  they  come  to  be  called 
over  again. 

Our  disputes,  however,  are  too  often  such  that 
when  we  come  to  be  asked  about  them,  as  the  dis- 
ciples were,  we  shall,  like  them,  be  ashamed  and 
liold  our  peace,  and  be  sorry  to  have  them  called  up 
again  ;  and  have  nothing  to  say  in  our  own  vindica- 


APPENDIX.  331 

tion,  and,  as  it  was  with  the  Sphesian  assembly^ 
when  we  are  called  in  question  we  can  show  no 
t?ause  whereby  we  may  justify  ourselves.  This  will 
be  the  case : 

1.  When  our  disputes  are  conducted  in  a  bad  or 
unchristian  temper.  Let  us  keep  the  full  possession 
and  government  of  our  own  spirits,  in  all  our  dis- 
putes. Let  us  carefully  suppress  all  inward  tumults, 
whatever  provocation  may  be  given  us.  The  liberty 
to  dispute  is  not  the  liberty  to  reproach  and  perse- 
cute those  who  differ  from  us.  Bigotry  and  persecu- 
tion are  not  the  children  of  light,  but  of  darkness. 
Our  very  enemies,  who  are  in  a  state  of  ignorance 
and  error,  demand  our  pity  and  prayers.  And  the 
one  even  who  has  injured  us,  we  are  commanded 
to  forgive,  and  to  "  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head," 
— not  to  consume  him,  but  to  melt  him  down  into 
kindness  and  peace.  As  to  different  parties  who 
profess  the  same  religion,  nothing  can  be  more  in- 
compatible with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  than  to  deal 
in  invective  and  reproach.  Yet  alas!  how  much  is 
it  the  case,  that  when  others  do  not  agree  with  us  in 
everything  we  think,  we  feel  at  liberty  to  indulge 
in  severity. 

What  was  said  of  Salmasius  may  be  said  of 
some  contracted,  bigoted  people :  "  They  seem 
to  have  erepted  their  throne  on  a  heap  of  stones, 
that  they  may  have  them  at  hand  to  throw  them 
at  everyone  that  passes  by."  But  is  this  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  ?     What  must  we  say   of  the 


332  APPENDIX. 

man  who  in  his  disputes  is  governed  by  a  spirit  so 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  our  Master?  Is  he  a 
follower  of  the  Lamb?  How  is  it,  then,  that  he  is  so 
much  like  a  lion  ?  Does  he  profess  to  imbibe  the 
meek  and  lowly  spirit  of  Jesus?  How  is  it,  then, 
that  he  is  as  morose  and  fierce  as  a  winter's  day  ?  Does 
he  call  himself  sound  in  the  faith,  and  yet  trample 
on  the  law  of  love  ?  My  brethren,  let  the  spirit  of 
kindness  be  exhibited  in  all  your  disputations. 
And  while  men  are  no  more  made  to  feel  alike  than 
to  look  alike,  still  the  minister  should  be  "  of  good 
behavior," — "no  striker,"  "  not  a  brawler."  "He 
must  have  a  good  report  of  them  who  are  without ;" 
he  must  "  be  patient ;"  "  in  meekness  instructing 
them  that  oppose  themselves."  There  are  times  w^hen 
he  must  without  flinching  contend  for  the  faith  ; 
when  he  must  call  "  damnable  delusions  "  by  their 
right  names,  and  rebuke  sharply  the  enemies  of 
gospel  morality ;  but  he  must  speak  the  truth  in 
love,  in  order  to  show  that  he  is  influenced  by 
the  spirit  of  Christ  in  all  he  says.  "  A  bad  temper 
is  a  bad  thing  anywhere,  but  it  is  especially  out  of 
place  in  the  ministry.  A  minister  that  gets  drunk 
with  passion  often  does  more  harm  than  one  who 
gets  drunk  with  wine.  A  man  of  commanding 
talents  with  high  passions  and  a  malignant  temper 
is  no  blessing  to  any  people.  He  may  be  pious  in  a 
modified  sense,  so  as  to  be  saved  by  fire,  but  if  a 
minister,  he  is  a  minister  not  of  the  spirit,  but  of 
the  letter  of  our  religion." 


APPENDIX.  333 

Sir  Henry  Wolton  so  disliked  angry  disputation, 
that  he  ordered  the  following  inscription  to  be  put 
on  his  monument : 

"  Here  lies  the  first  author  of  this  sentence — 
The  itch  of  disputation  is  the  bane  of  the  church; 
Seek  his  name  elsewhere." 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Reformation,  when  dis- 
putation ran  high,  Philip  Melancthon  being  on  his 
way  to  a  conference  at  Spire,  called  to  see  his 
mother.  This  good  woman  asked  him  what  she 
must  believe  amidst  so  much  angry  disputation,  and 
repeated  to  him  her  prayers,  which  he  found  con- 
tained nothing  superstitious.  "Go  on  mother," 
said  he,  "  to  believe  and  pray  as  you  have  done,  and 
never  trouble  yourself  about  religious  controversies." 
It  is  said  of  this  great  and  good  man,  that  he  longed 
for  death  for  two  reasons:  1.  That  he  might  enjoy 
the  much-desired  sight  and  presence  of  Christ  and 
the  heavenly  church;  and,  2.  That  he  might  be 
freed  from  the  cruel  and  implacable  discord  of 
divines.  Even  Luther,  who  was  no  small  contro- 
versialist and  who  did  not  always,  as  I  think, 
exhibit  the  sweetest  temper,  used  to  pray  in  the 
following  manner :  "  From  a  vainglorious  doctor,  a 
contentious  pastor,  and  nice  questions,  the  Lord 
deliver  his  church."  "  The  following  little  parable 
or  story,"  says  Bishop  Patrick,  "  I  have  somewhere 
met  with  out  of  Anselm :  There  were  two  men, 
says  he,  who,  a  little  before  the    sun  was  up    fell 


^34  APPENDIX. 

into  a  very  earnest  dispute  concerning  that  part  of 
the  heavens  wherein  that  glorious  body  "was  to  rise 
that  day.  In  this  controversy  they  sufifered  them- 
selves to  be  so  far  engaged  that  at  last  they  fell 
together  by  the  ears,  and  ceased  not  their  buflfetings 
till  they  had  beaten  out  each  other's  eyes ;  and  so  it 
came  to  pass  that  when,  a  little  after,  the  sun  did 
show  his  face,  neither  of  these  doughty  champions 
could  discern  one  jot."  So  it  is  often  with  angry 
disputants. 

2.  But  our  disputes  are  often  such  as  we  may  be 
justly  ashamed  of,  on  account  of  the  matter  of  them. 
What  was  it  that  we  disputed  among  ourselves? 
Perhaps  it  was  something  above  us,  some  secret 
thing  that  belongs  to  God,  and  which  even  angels 
desire  in  vain  to  look  into ;  things  which  we  did  not 
and  could  not  understand ;  things  about  which  it 
was  presumptuous  for  us  to  dispute.  Perhaps  it  was 
something  below  us,  not  worth  disputing  about, 
especially  with  so  much  warmth  and  violence.  Per- 
haps it  was  but  a  trifle,  a  mere  strife  of  words,  a 
thing  of  no  value,  as  if  we  only  wanted  something  to 
wrangle  about ;  so  inconsiderable  a  thing  that,  no 
matter  how  decided,  the  costs  are  much  more  than 
the  damage.  In  the  reflection,  we  may  justly  blush 
to  think  that  we  should  make  so  much  ado,  so  great  a 
noise  about  nothing.  Perhaps  it  was  something 
foreign  to  us,  that  we  were  in  no  wise  concerned  in. 
Our  Lord,  after  his  resurrection,  twice  checked  his 
disciples  for  vain  curiosity,  once  in  inquiring  con- 


APPENDIX.  335 

cerning  another's  affairs,  when  Peter  asked  concern- 
ing John,  "  What  shall  this  man  do  ?"  Christ 
answered  him,  "  What  is  that  to  thee  ?  follow  thou 
me ;"  and  at  another  time  in  inquiring  concerning 
God's  counsels :  "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the 
times  or  the  seasons." 

A  young  minister  once  asked  an  aged  divine 
whether  a  Roman  Catholic  could  be  saved.  "  You 
may  be  saved,"  said  the  aged  minister,  "  without 
knowing  that." 

A  certain  one  asked  the  Savior,  "  Lord,  are  there 
few  that  be  saved  ?"  Our  Lord  answered  and  said, 
"  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate." 

Perhaps  it  was  something  indifferent,  like  the 
controversy  among  the  primitive  Christians  con- 
cerning the  observance  of  days,  and  making  a  dis- 
tinction of  meats,  which  the  apostle  himself  does 
not  undertake  to  decide,  but  leaves  each  side  to 
proceed  according  to  their  own  judgment,  without 
imposing  their  practice  upon  the  rest,  since  they 
might  be  of  either  mind  and  be  accepted  of  God ; 
only  he  forbids  them  to  fall  out  about  it,  or  to 
despise   or  judge  one  another. 

If  we  would  not  be  ashamed  when  we  are  called 
to  account  by  our  Lord,  let  us  never  lose  the  charity 
we  ought  to  have  for  our  brethren  who  may  differ 
from  us,  nor  violate  the  sacred  law  of  love.  Our 
Lord  foresaw  and  foretold  that  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  would  occasion  much  division ;  that  it  would 
set  men  at  variance,  and  be  the  subject  of  much  dis- 


S36  APPENDIX. 

pute ;  and  therefore  he  thought  it  very  requisite  to 
bind  the  command  of  mutual  love  the  more  strongly 
upon  his  followers.  Because  there  was  danger  lest 
love  should  be  lost  in  these  disputes,  he  makes  it  one 
of  the  fundamental  laws  of  his  kingdom.  The  "  new 
commandment"  was  that  we  love  one  another.  Love 
is  the  badge  of  his  family,  by  which  all  men  may 
know  who  are  his  disciples.  See  how  true  Christians 
love  one  another.  Let  us,  therefore,  in  all  our  dis- 
putes keep  ourselves  under  the  commanding  power 
and  influence  of  holy  love ;  for  that  victory  is  dearly 
bought  which  is  obtained  at  the  expense  of  Chris- 
tian charity.  Let  us  manifest  proper  regard  for  our 
opposers,  and  not  trample  upon  any,  nor  set  those 
"among  the  dogs  of  our  flock,"  whom,  for  aught  we 
know,  Christ  has  set  with  the  lamljs  of  his.  Let  us 
never  bring  a  "  railing  accusation "  against  any. 
Michael,  the  archangel,  though  he  Avas  sure  he  was 
in  the  right — and  the  glory  of  God  was  nearly  con- 
cerned ;  and  it  was  with  the  devil  he  contended — 
would  not  thus  attack  his  adversary.  The  scourge 
of  the  tongue  has  driven  more  out  of  the  temple 
than  it  ever  drove  into  it.  Let  us  always  put  the 
best  construction  on  our  brethren's  words  and 
actions  that  they  will  bear,  not  "  digging  up  mis- 
chief" as  evil  men  do,  nor  "  rejoicing  in  iniquity," 
but  "  rejoicing  in  the  truth,"  hoping  the  best  as  far 
as  we  can. 

Let  us  not  aggravate  matters  in  variance,  nor  by 
*S:ained   innuendoes   and  misrepresentations  make 


APPENDIX.  337 

either  side  worse  than  it  is ;  for  that  is  a  method 
which  may  harden  one  side  but  can  never  convince 
the  other,  nor  can  it  be  used  with  any  other  design 
than  to  make  the  contending  parties  hate  one 
another ;  and  whose  kingdom  that  serves  the  inter- 
ests of,  it  is  easy  to  say — not  Christ's,  I  am  sure. 
Let  us  not  judge  our  brethren  and  decide  upon  their 
spiritual  and  eternal  state  and  pronounce  on  them 
an  anathema  because  they  are  not  in  everything  of 
our  mind,  or  cannot  in  every  particular  fall  in  with 
our  measures.  They  who  do  so  usurp  a  divine  pre- 
rogative, take  the  "  keys  of  hell  and  death  "  out  of 
the  hando  of  Christ,  and  show  themselves  to  be  as 
destitute  of  the  fear  of  God  as  they  are  of  love  to 
their  neighbor. 

Let  us  often  think  of  the  account  we  must  shortly 
render  to  our  Master,  of  all  our  disputes  with  our 
fellow-servants  by  the  way.  Let  us  consider  how 
our  disputes  will  look  at  that  day,  and  what  our 
reflections  will  be  upon  them. 

When  the  apostle  asks,  "  Where  is  the  disputer 
of  this  world  ?"  "  Perhaps,"  says  the  excellent 
Archbishop  Tillotson,  "  he  here  intends  to  insinuate 
that  the  wrangling  work  of  disputation  hath  place 
only  in  this  Avorld,  and  upon  this  earth,  where  there 
is  only  dust  to  be  raised,  but  Avill  have  no  place  in 
the  other,  where  all  things  will  be  clear  and  past 
dispute.  And  a  good  man  would  be  loath  to  be  taken 
out  of  this  world  reeking  hot  from  a  sharp  conten- 
tion with  a  perverse  adversary,  especially  if  that 


338  APPENDIX. 

adversary  be  a  brother,  and  not  a  little  out  of  coun- 
tenance to  find  himself  in  this  temper  translated 
into  the  calm  and  peaceful  regions  of  the  blessed, 
"where  nothing  but  perfect  charity  and  good  will 
reign  forever."  Again  let  me  advise  you,  my  breth- 
ren, to  cultivate  a  true  love  for  all  that  love  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  but  never  permit  3'our  Christian 
liberality  to  degenerate  into  that  indifference  which 
regards  all  principles  alike.  Men  who  regard  all 
principles  alike  have  no  principles  of  their  own, 
and  are  not  to  be  trusted.  Principles  are  important, 
but  they  need  to  be  adorned  by  the  graces  of  the 
Spirit  to  render  them  attractive. 

IV.  Of  all  disputes,  Christ  will  be  sure  to  call  us 
to  account  for  our  disputes  about  precedence  and 
superiority.  This  was  the  dispute  here ;  "  Who  shall 
be  the  greatest  ?  "  Alas,  how  soon  did  this  spirit  of 
ambition  manifest  itself  among  the  disciples.  On 
one  occasion  the  mother  of  James  and  John,  insti- 
gated no  doiibt  by  them,  asked  of  Christ  that  these 
her  sons  might  sit,  the  one  on  his  right  hand,  and 
the  other  on  his  left,  in  his  kingdom.  And  here  we 
find  them  again  disputing  "who  shall  be  the 
greatest."  Christ  does  not  determine  the  matter  as 
it  might  justly  be  expected  he  would  have  done,  if 
he  had  intended  Peter  or  any  other  of  them  should 
have  a  primacy  and  supremacy  above  the  rest.  No ; 
he  is  displeased  with  them  for  starting  such  a  ques- 
tion, and  disputing  about  it,  because  it  was  an  indi- 
cation that  they  aimed  at  being  great  in  the  world 


APPENDIX.  339 

and  were  ambitious  of  it ;  and  wherever  preferments 
were  to  be  had,  they  would  quarrel  among  them- 
selves which  should  get  the  best.  Over  and  above 
the  meanness  of  their  first  education,  when  they 
were  bred  as  fishermen,  which  might  have  done 
something  to  curb  aspiring  thoughts,  and  the  good- 
ness of  their  late  education,  when  they  were  trained 
up  to  be  apostles,  which  might  have  done  much 
more,  there  are  several  reasons  why  this  desire  for 
preferment  was  very  displeasing  to  our  Lord  and 
Master. 

1.  Because  it  came  from  a  mistaken  notion  of 
his  kingdom,  which  they  had  learned  at  the  feet  of 
their  scribes,  and  had  not  yet  unlearned,  though 
they  had  sat  so  long  at  Christ's  feet — so  hard  is  it  to 
conquer  the  power  of  prejudice.  They  still  expected 
that  he  would  exercise  a  temporal  jurisdiction,  that 
he  would  break  the  Roman  yoke  from  off  their  necks, 
establish  a  temporal  kingdom,  and  exalt  them  to 
places  of  dignity  and  honor.  This  was  a  great  mis- 
take, and  the  constant  tenor  of  Christ's  life  and  doc- 
trine might  have  convinced  them  that  it  was  so ; 
that  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  but  was 
intended  to  be  spiritual — the  laws  and  powers  of  it, 
the  rewards  and  punishments  of  it,  all  spiritual ; 
that  he  was  to  rule  by  his  spirit  in  the  spirit  of  his 
subjects.  He  taught  them  that  the  design  of  his 
kingdom  was  to  refine  men  from  the  dross  and 
dregs  of  worldliness  and  sensuality,  and  to  raise 
them  up  to  a  holy,  heavenly,  spiritual,  divine  life. 


340  APPENDIX. 

and  to  teach  them  to  look  down  upon  all  earthly 
things  with  a  lofty  contempt.  Such  Avas  the  nature 
of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  therefore  it  could  not  but 
be  displeasing  to  him  for  them  to  covet  earthly 
greatness. 

2.  He  was  displeased  with  them  because  the 
spirit  of  ambition  they  manifested  was  contrary  to 
the  two  great  lessons  of  his  school  and  laws  of  his 
kingdom — humility  and  love.  It  is  against  the 
law  of  humility  to  desire  to  be  the  greatest,  and 
against  the  law  of  love  to  strive  or  dispute  who 
shall  be  greatest.  Had  not  Christ  taught  them  both 
these  lessons  by  precept  and  example  ?  Had  he  not 
made  it  the  first  condition  of  discipleship,  that  who- 
soever would  come  after  him  must  deny  himself? 
Does  not  the  great  law  of  love  oblige  us  in  honor 
to  prefer  one  another?  What  unapt  scholars,  then, 
were  they  who  had  not  learned  such  plain  and 
needful  lessons  as  these !  How  well  for  us  that  we 
have  a  kind  Master  who  does  not  expel  us  from 
the  school  as  dull  scholars,  but  gives  us  his  Spirit  to 
open  our  understanding,  and  bring  things  to  our 
remembrance. 

3.  He  was  displeased  because  it  was  repugnant 
to  the  example  which  he  had  set  them,  and  the  copy 
he  had  given  them  to  follow.  The  Avord  of  command 
which  the  Master  gave  them  was,  "Follow  me;'* 
do  as  you  see  me  do.  But  when  they  were  disputing 
who  should  be  greatest,  and  each  aiming  at  pomp 
and  power,   they   were   far   from   resembling    him, 


APPENDIX.  341 

"  who  was  among  them  as  one  that  served,"  and 
"  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to  minister." 

4.  Another  reason  why  the  Savior  was  dis- 
pleased, was  because  he  saw  that  spiritual  ambition 
would  be,  more  than  anything  else,  the  bane  of  the 
church  in  after  times ;  would  be  the  reproach  of  its 
ministers,  an  obstruction  to  its  enlargement,  the  dis- 
turber of  its  peace,  and  the  origin  of  all  the  breaches 
that  would  be  made  upon  its  order  and  unity. 
"  If,"  says  a  clear  and  forcible  writer,  "  we  would  see 
the  results  of  spiritual  ambition  in  its  general 
effects  upon  the  church  and  the  world,  let  us  go 
back  and  see  the  fearful  results  of  this  terrible  sin 
in  that  system  which  culminated  in  the  tenth  cen- 
tury, when  it  had  worked  out  its  results  in  plunging 
the  world  into  the  midnight  of  the  dark  ages.  .  .  . 
The  man  who  tampers  with  or  encourages  this 
spirit  is  no  wiser  than  he  would  be  who  should 
gaze  into  the  basilisk's  eyes,  linger  under  the  upas 
tree,  put  forth  his  hand  admiringly  to  feel  the 
texture  of  the  smooth  tiger's  skin,  speculate  scien- 
tifically amid  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  dark- 
ness, and  sport  with  the  lightnings  of  heaven." 

Ambition  is  a  terrible  serpent  within  the  soul. 
Some  of  its  most  hateful  companions  are  envy  and 
jealousy — the  meanest,  most  hateful,  and  painful  of 
passions.  Envy  leads  to  "  evil  surmisings."  If  the 
envious  man  can  find  nothing  against  his  brethren, 
he  will  surmise  there  is  something.  If  he  can  find 
nothing  in  their  actions  to  judge,  he  will  judge  their 


342  APPENDIX. 

hearts.  If  there  is  nothing  visible,  he  thinks  there 
is  something  secret;  and  from  thinking  there  may 
be  something,  he  will  judge  it  is  very  likely  there  is 
eomething,  and  from  likely  there  is,  he  will  conclude 
there  is,  that  "surely  there  is  some  plot  working." 
Says  Henry:  "If  our  ambition  tempts  us  to  envy 
others  and  seek  their  downfall  that  we  may  occupy 
their  positions,  it  would  help  very  much  to  keep 
down  this  passion  if  we  would  consider  how  many 
there  are  above  whom  we  are  placed.  Instead  of 
fretting  because  they  are  preferred  before  us  in  honor, 
power,  gifts,  graces,  or  usefulness,  we  have  reason  to 
bless  God  if  we,  who  are  less  than  the  least,  are  not 
put  hindmost."  "  Beware  of  envy,"  for  envy  is  the 
"  rottenness  of  the  bones." 

Jealousies  exist  in  families,  among  men  of  busi- 
ness, among  politicians,  lawyers,  physicians,  among 
men  of  science;  and  this  spirit  of  jealousy,  mean 
and  hateful  as  it  is,  exists  in  the  heart  of  the  spirit- 
ually ambitious  minister,  greatly  to  his  discomfort 
and  to  the  circumscribing  of  his  usefulness.  I 
believe  that  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  as  a  class, 
are  the  best  men  on  earth ;  but  with  less  envy  and 
jealousy  of  one  another,  they  would  be  vastly  im- 
proved. 

Ambition  leaves  marks  upon  the  countenance 
and  in  the  life.  A  man  need  not  try  to  hide  his 
character.  He  may  succeed  for  a  time,  but  it  is  like 
hiding  "the  ointment  of  his  right  hand,  which 
bcAvrayeth   itself."      Character   is   well    defined    by 


iPl'ENDIX,  343 

BiMhop  Butler  to  be  ''  that  whole  frame  of  mind  by 
which  one  man  acts  differently  from  another."'  The 
spiritually  ambitious  minister  shows  his  character 
like  ether  men ;  and  all  Christians  know  it  to  be 
"Utterly  inconsistent  with  his  profession ;  and  the 
gradual  loss  of  the  confidence  of  the  best  and  wisest 
follows. 

The  plans  of  the  ambitious  man  often  fail,  because 
«Jod  orders  and  disposes  all  things.  Now  when  one 
has  not  been  unduly  anxious  about  a  matter,  and 
has  cordially  left  it  to  God,  he  can  easily  bear  dis- 
uppointment;  but  when  he  has  set  his  heart  on  a 
■case,  has  plotted,  and  contrived,  and  sinned  to  gain 
it,  the  disappointment  goes  to  his  heart  like  a 
dagger. 

Finally,  my  brethren,  let  us  not  strive  who  shall 
be  the  greatest,  or  who  shall  have  the  highest  prefer- 
ment, or  who  shall  be  most  honored,  but  acquiesce 
in  the  lot  Providence  carves  out  for  us,  not  aiming 
at  great  things  or  striving  for  them.  Let  us  strive 
who  shall  he  best,  not  who  has  been  best — that  is  a  vain- 
glorious strife — and  humbly  contend  who  shall  be 
most  humble  and  stoop  the  lowest  for  the  good  of 
others,  and  who  shall  labor  most  for  the  peace, 
purity,  and  prosperity  of  the  church.  This  is  a 
gracious  strife — a  strife  that  will  pass  well  in  our 
account  when  all  our  disputes  shall  be  reviewed.  If 
we  covet,  let  us  "covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts" — 
covet  to  be  "  rich  in  faith  and  good  works."  If  we 
will  be  ambitious,  let  it  be  our  highest  ambition 


344  APPENDIX. 

to  do  good,  and  therein  to  be  accepted  of  the  Lord. 
If  we  will  aim  to  excel,  let  it  be  in  that  which  is 
virtuous  and  praiseworthy,  and  in  a  holy  zeal  for 
the  honor  of  God  and  the  advancement  of  the  true 
interests  of  Christ's  kingdom.  Let  us,  then,  go 
before  in  zeal,  and  yet  be  willing  to  come  behind 
in  humility  and  self-denial ;  do  better  than  others, 
and  yet,  in  love  and  lowliness  esteem  others  better 
than  ourselves. 

Especially  let  us  strive  to  excel  ourselves,  and  do 
more  good  than  we  have  done.  And  when  we 
remember  the  blessings  of  our  youth,  and  the  love 
of  our  espousals,  instead  of  leaving  that  first  love, 
and  cooling  in  it,  let  our  advanced  years  contend 
earnestly  to  excel  our  early  ones,  that  our  last  days 
may  be  our  best  days,  and  our  last  works  our  best 
works. 

My  brethren,  let  us  all  look  for  a  fresh  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  After  the  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  Ave  do  not  find  the 
disciples  contending  who  should  be  greatest,  but  we 
find  them  submitting  themselves  to  poverty,  labor, 
persecutions,  and  to  death  itself,  that  they  might 
win  souls  to  Christ.  And  if  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
poured  out  upon  us  while  we  are  here  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Christ  and  his  church,  our  conversa- 
tion and  our  disputes  will  be  such  as  will  bear 
inspection  when  the  Master  shall  call  us  to  account. 

Let  us  gird  on  the  armor  afresh,  and  fight  val- 
iantly for  the  right.     Our  Church  must  grow  or  die. 


APPENDIX.  345 

There  is  much  to  be  done  by  us  for  the  spread  of 
gospel  truth.  Therefore  for  our  Church's  sake,  for 
the  sake  of  perishing  souls,  for  the  sake  of  our 
beloved  country,  for  the  sake  of  Him  dearer  to 
us  than  all  besides — our  crucified  Savior — let  us 
maintain  purity  in  doctrine,  purity  in  the  ministry, 
purity  in  the  membership,  purity  in  discipline; 
then,  and  only  then,  may  we  expect  permanent 
prosperity. 

Above  all  things,  my  brethren,  "have  fervent 
charity  among  yourselves."  And  now,  brethren, 
"  I  commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his 
grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up  "  and  cause  you 
to  abound  in  every  good  word  and  work  to  the 
praise  of  his  glorious  name.     Amen. 

SOWING   BESIDE   ALL   WATERS. 

"Blessed  are  ye  that  sow  beside  all  waters." — Isa.  32:20. 

I.  What  are  we  to  sow  ?  We  reply  briefly,  and 
at  once,  in  the  words  of  Christ,  the  "  good  seed  "  of 
the  kingdom ;  that  is,  the  seed  of  eternal  truth,  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Christ,  the  truth  which  is  accord- 
ing to  godliness,  or  in  other  words,  the  doctrines, 
privileges  and  practices  of  Christianity  as  revealed 
in  the  gospel  of  Christ.  It  is  this  seed  which  taking 
root  in  the  soil  of  the  human  heart,  shall  grow  up 
and  bring  forth  fruit,  some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and 
some  a  hundred  fold.  Not  everything  bearing  the 
semblance  of  the  divine  will  ripen  unto  immortality. 
No  seed  which  is  of  human  invention  is  capable  of 


346  APPENDIX. 

producing  a  result  so  stupendous  and  beautiful.  It 
is  the  simple,  but  omnipotent  truth  of  God,  given 
us  in  Christ  and  made  vital  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"  Descending  from  heaven  as  a  power  it  ascends 
thither  as  a  growth."  "  For  as  the  rain  cometh 
down,  and  the  snow  from  heaven,  and  returneth  not 
thither  but  watereth  the  earth,  and  maketh  it  bring 
forth  and  bud,  that  it  may  give  seed  to  the  sower, 
and  bread  to  the  eater :  so  shall  my  word  be  that 
goeth  forth  out  of  my  mouth :  it  shall  not  return 
unto  me  void,  but  it  shall  accomplish  that  which  I 
please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  whereto 
I  sent  it." 

What  the  world  needs  is  not  the  husks  of  old 
speculations  and  dogmas.  All  this  is  not  sufficient 
to  rescue  a  world  sunken  in  iniquity,  to  holiness, 
happiness,  and  to  God.  Neither  is  it  sufficient  that 
lectures  and  well  written  essays  on  moral  reform  be 
scattered  like  leaves  of  autumn  among  the  people. 
What  is  necessary  is  the  simple  gospel  of  Christ, 
quickened  by  the  breath  of  the  Almighty,  and 
lodged  as  a  living  power  in  throbbing  human  hearts. 
This  is  what  each  man  dead  in  trespasses  and  in 
sin  needs.  This  is  Avhat  the  Avorld  hoary  with  guilt 
needs  for  its  renovation.  Gospel  truth  as  a  miracle 
of  grace,  as  a  life-giving  seed  must  be  sown  in  its 
fullness  among  all  people  for  a  witness.  God's  word 
is  perfect,  converting  the  soul,  while  the  statutes  of 
the  Lord  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart.  The  gospel 
is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.     The  gospel  is 


APPENDIX.  347 

the  two-edged  sword  which  alone  can  pierce  even  to 
the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the 
joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart.  The  word  of  truth,  the 
gospel  of  our  salvation,  is  not  in  word  only,  but 
in  power  and  in  demonstration  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  in  much  assurance,  thus  commending  itself  to 
every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.  In  this 
word  of  truth  is  that  knowledge  which  makes  men 
wise  unto  salvation ;  that  experience  that  satisfies 
the  heart,  and  presents  to  us  Christ  as  our  pattern, 
whose  mind  we  should  imbibe  and  whose  example 
we  should  follow.  Oh,  that  the  heart  of  the  Church 
and  of  its  entire  ministry  might  be  impressed  with 
this  great  truth,  so  that  we  may  cease  from  strife, 
and  from  questions  that  tend  to  no  profit,  and  that 
we  may  turn  our  entire  energies  to  spreading 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
God's  truth  is  the  great  rectifier  of  all  error  and  of 
all  evils.  This  alone  purifies  the  heart.  Hence  the 
prayer,  "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth:  thy 
word  is  truth."  All  other  reformations  are  but 
partial  and  apparent,  like  the  skin  drawn  over  the 
cancerous  sore,  while  its  fiery  roots  are  spreading 
within. 

This  divine  seed,  by  its  holy  power,  produces  a 
radical,  a  total  change;  it  forms  us  new  crea- 
tures in  Christ,  and  makes  us  partakers  of  the  divine 
nature.  The  members  of  the  body  and  the  faculties 
of  the  soul  are  alike  affected  by  its  blessed  influence. 


348  APPENDIX. 

Those  eyes  that  were  once  evil  and  full  of  adultery, 
are  now  turned  to  Heaven  with  pious  adoration,  or 
gushing  with  tears  of  penitence  for  sin.  That  heart, 
that  once  was  a  cage  of  unclean  birds,  is  now  the 
temple  of  God.  When  the  heart  is  opened  as  was 
the  heart  of  Lydia  for  the  reception  of  this  divine 
seed,  and  the  seed  germinates,  the  obstinate  becomes 
mild;  the  self-willed,  submissive;  the  careless, 
thoughtful ;  and  the  dissolute,  holy. 

This  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of  example.  Yea, 
I  am  addressing  some  who  can  bear  witness,  and 
glory  in  the  thought  that  they  are  trophies  of  this 
power,  and  who  stand  in  the  church  as  monuments 
of  the  word  of  grace.  1  might  mention  some  who 
were,  like  the  Corinthians,  the  slaves  of  sin,  and  say, 
"Such  were  some  of  you:  but  ye  are  washed, 
but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  :>f  our 
God." 

II.  Who  are  the  sowers  ?  Some  of  the  sowers 
stand  in  the  porch,  some  around  the  altars,  some  in 
very  obscure  corners;  but  the  duty  of  all  Christians 
is  to  hold  up  and  to  hold  forth  the  word  of  truth. 
Think  not  that  this  noble  work  is  confined  to  the 
pulpit.  It  is  true  that  God  in  his  wisdom  does  call 
men  and  set  them  apart  as  sowers  of  the  precious 
seed,  and  whose  life  business  it  is  to  cry,  0 !  earth, 
earth,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord.  But  all  Christians 
should  be  co-workers  and  fellow-helpers  in  the  truth. 
It  is  one  of  the  devices  of  hell  to  forl^id  all  but  the 


APPENDIX.  349 

regularly  authorized  ministers  to  tell  sinners  around 
them  the  way  of  life. 

The  Sabbath-school  teacher  is  a  sower  of  precious 
seed,  and  if  he  feels  as  he  should  feel  the  responsibil- 
ity resting  upon  him,  he  will  say,  Come  unto  me, 
ye  children,  and  I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of  the 
Lord. 

The  pious,  though  obscure,  mother  with  her  chil- 
dren grouped  around  her,  with  the  Bible  upon  her 
knee,  instructing  them  in  the  way  of  life,  is  a  sower, 
and  the  seed  thus  sown  with  tears  and  prayers  will 
not  be  in  vain.  The  friend  who  deals  faithfully 
with  the  soul  of  his  friend,  the  young  men  banded 
together  for  works  of  benevolence  and  mercy, — these, 
no  less  than  the  minister,  are  co-workers  with  God 
and  are  holding  forth  the  words  of  life.  You  may 
be  jioor  and  obscure,  and  hold  no  rank  in  the 
church ;  but  may  not  a  private  in  the  army  fight  as 
valiantly  for  his  country  as  the  officer  that  com- 
mands? May  he  not  die  fighting  for  the  colors 
Avhich  he  may  not  carry  ?  If  it  is  not  his  business 
to  train  recruits  he  may  enlist  them.  To  this 
work  of  sowing  divine  seed  and  enlisting  recruits 
for  Christ,  the  gospel  calls  all  who  are  looking  to  the 
cross  for  salvation.  "  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say, 
Come.  And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come."  The 
Master  hath  need  of  the  active  service  of  all  his 
servants.  Multitudes  in  our  most  highly  favored 
places  are  dying  in  their  sins ;  and  though  every 
minister  were  a  flaming  fire,  and  every  preacher  a 


350  APPENDIX. 

Whitfield  they  could  not  overtaka  the  work  before 
them.  No  person  should  be  considered  converted 
unless  so  converted  as  to  take  a  living,  loving 
interest  in  the  conversion  of  others. 

III.  Our  next  inquiry  is,  where  shall  we  sow? 
"  The  field  is  the  world."  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  "  Thi.* 
gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the 
world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations."  All  men 
everywhere  need  the  gospel.  Men  everywhere  are 
depraved.  All  have  sprung  from  the  man  whose 
guilty  fall  corrupts  his  race  and  taints  us  all.  The 
unchanged  hearts  of  men  everywhere  are  deceitful 
above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked.  Men  are 
not  only  depraved,  but  all  have  sinned  and  come 
short  of  the  glory  of  God.  All  who  do  not  receive 
Christ  by  faith  are  in  a  state  of  condemnation  and 
are  under  the  curse,  for  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
upon  them.  But  how  can  men  believe  on  him  of 
whom  they  have  not  heard,  and  how  can  they  hear 
without  a  preacher  ?  Hence  the  necessity  of  sowing 
the  seed  of  the  kingdom  everywhere ;  at  home  and 
abroad,  in  civilized  and  in  heathen  lands,  in  cities 
and  villages,  in  the  valleys  and  upon  the  moun- 
tains, among  the  rich  and  poor,  high  and  lowly.  All 
need  the  gospel,  and  we,  like  the  apostles,  should  go 
everywhere  preaching  the  word,  and  as  all  men 
everywhere  need  salvation  from  the  pollution  of  sin, 
and  need  deliverance  from  its  guilt  and  condemna- 
tion, we  should  rejoice  to  be  permitted  to  say  : 


APPENDIX.  351 

"Come  all  the  world, 
Come  sinner  thou, 
All  things  in  Christ  are  ready  now. " 

Sow  everywhere;  for  unlike  all  other  religious, 
Christianity  is  adapted  to  universality.  Every- 
where, in  all  soils,  in  all  climates,  the  seed  of  the 
kingdom  germinates  and  grows.  We  are  to  sow 
everywhere,  because  the  Master  commands  it. 

IV.     How  should  we  sow  ? 

1.  Liberally.  Like  Carey,  we  are  to  expect  great 
things  from  God.  *'  We  must  attempt  great  things 
for  God."  The  Lord  loves  a  cheerful  giver;  so  he 
loves  a  cheerful  and  liberal  sower.  He  that  sows 
sparingly  will  reap  sparingly.  "  Freely  ye  have  re- 
ceived, freely  give."  He  that  withholdeth  the  bread 
from  the  hungry  deserves  the  curse. 

2.  Sow  with  decision  of  character.  True  great- 
ness and  extended  usefulness  in  any  department  of 
life  depend  largely  upon  this.  But  especially  is 
this  true  of  the  sowers  of  this  precious  seed.  A 
double-minded  man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways, 
and  he  who  is  turned  from  his  course  by  every 
wind  of  opposition  can  never  expect  to  reap  a 
golden  harvest,  or  achieve  anything  for  the  Master. 
Paul,  Knox,  Luther,  Otterbein,  Wesley,  wrought 
through  their  character  as  well  as  by  their  words. 

3.  Sow  in  faith.  "All  things  are  possible  to  him 
that  believeth."  "According  to  your  faith,  be  it  unto 
you."  This  nerves  the  soul  to  deeds  of  noble 
daring.     Witness  David  in  the  camp  of  Saul.    This 


352  APPENDIX. 

is  the  principle  that  connects  the  impotence  of 
the  creature  with  tlie  omnipotence  of  God.  "  This 
is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our 
faith."  Have  faith  in  the  inspired  account  of 
man's  moral  condition.  Believe  Avhat  God  has 
promised.  My  brethren,  unbelief  makes  God  a 
liar,  poisons  the  source  of  Christian  confidence, 
cuts  the  nerves  of  all  spiritual  exertion,  tends  to 
discouragement  and  despondency.  It  is  the  little- 
ness of  our  faith  that  makes  us  dwarfs,  cowards,  and 
narrow-minded  in  our  conceptions  of  duty. 

4.  Sow  with  prayer  that  God  may  accompany 
the  seed  sown  by  his  Holy  Spirit.  The  blessedness 
of  such  a  course  is  manifold.  The  trusting  are 
blessed  in  heart.  It  is  the  industrious  worker  that 
is  happy.  The  idler  and  pleasure  seeker  are  the 
unhappy  ones.  What  is  your  experience?  The 
laborer  who  is  in  the  field  at  early  morn  plowing  on 
the  mountain  side,  or  scattering  the  golden  seed  in 
the  fruitful  valley,  has  no  time  to  be  wretched. 

5.  Sow  in  hope  also.  In  the  sphere  of  religion 
it  often  happens  that  the  sower  becomes  also  the 
reaper.  Oh,  what  glorious  sheaves  are  gathered 
even  now  in  the  field  of  toil!  How  many  expe- 
rience the  fulfillment  of  the  promise,  "  He  that  goeth 
forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall 
doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his 
sheaves  with  him"  ?  At  the  close  of  life's  weary  day. 
the  sower  has  wept  tears  of  joy  as  he  gazes  upon 
the  fair  harvest  waving  before   his   eyes.     He  sees 


APPENDIX.  353 

only  the  pittance  which  has  been  spared  from  the 
expense  of  a  wanton  ostentation.  As  long  as  avari- 
cious Christians  shall  so  extend  their  plans  of  busi- 
ness with  the  increase  of  their  capital  as  to  always 
be  straitened  in  the  midst  of  their  gains — and  as 
long  as  parents  shall  labor  to  amass  wealth  for  their 
offspring  only  to  paralyze  their  enterprise,  and  cor- 
rupt their  morals,  and  insure  their  ruin — so  long  the 
corrupt  cause  of  God  on  earth  must  move  slowly. 
There  is  this  day  in  the  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ,  in  the  hands  of  her  member- 
ship, capital  enough  to  more  than  quadruple  the 
number  of  our  missionaries  now  in  the  field,  and 
without  the  retrenchment  of  a  single  comfort  neces- 
sary to  their  happiness  or  the  welfare  of  their 
children.  Is  there  a  Christian  here  who  cannot  for 
the  year  to  come  double  the  amount  of  his  benev- 
olence? Is  there  one  who  will  not  now  purpose 
in  his  heart  to  do  it  ?  Brethren,  the  time  is  short  in 
which  we  have  opportunity  to  express  our  boundless 
obligations  to  the  Savior.  The  fashion  of  the  world 
passeth  away.  Next  year  our  tongues  may  be 
employed  in  celestial  praises  and  our  substance  be 
in  other  hands.  What  remains,  then,  but  that  this 
day  we  dedicate  ourselves  and  all  we  have  anew  to 
him  who  washed  us  in  his  blood  ?  The  missionary 
enterprise  to  which  we  pledge  ourselves  this  day 
may  tell  quickly  in  the  very  heart  of  Satan's  empire 
and  cause  light  to  spring  up  in  the  retreats  of  deep- 
est darkness. 


354  APPENDIX. 

'  V.  I  close  by  noticing  the  blessedness  of  those 
"vvho  are  sowing  the  precious  seed,  and  of  those  who 
are  sustaining  them  in  their  work  of  faith  and  labor 
of  love.  There  is  a  three-fold  blessedness.  There  is 
a  blessedness  in  the  heart.  The  industrious  and 
self-sacrificing  worker  is  a  happy  man.  The  lover 
of  himself  and  the  world  is  the  unhappy  man. 
What  is  your  experience,  my  brother?  Are  you 
now  industriously  sowing  this  precious  seed  ?  If  so 
you  are  happy.  A  blessedness  is  experienced  in  the 
work  itself — a  work  in  which  angels  might  delight 
to  share — and  in  the  sympathy  and  gratitude  of 
others,  and  likewise  in  the  hope  of  the  harvest  to 
come.  Oh !  what  glorious  sheaves  are  gathered  even 
now  in  the  fields  of  toil !  "He  that  goeth  forth  and 
weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come 
again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with 
him."  Often  at  the  close  of  life's  weary  day  the 
sower  has  wept  tears  of  joy  as  he  has  gazed  upon 
the  fair  harvest  waving  before  his  eyes.  He  sees 
sowers  who  have  been  brought  to  Christ  through 
his  labors.  He  sees  that  the  wilderness  and  the 
solitary  place  are  made  glad  and  that  the  desert 
rejoices  and  blossoms  as  the  rose. 

Who  can  describe  the  thrill  of  joy  that  passed 
through  the  frame  of  the  dying  Boardman,  when 
borne  upon  a  litter  he  gazed  upon  the  Karen  con- 
verts going  down  to  the  river  to  be  baptized  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  ?  The  death  of  Gordon  Hall  far  from 
kindred  and  home  was  like  the  coronation  of  a  king. 


APPENDIX.  355 

His  last  words  were  a  sort  of  triumphal  shout : 
^' Glory  be  to  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy- 
Ghost." 

And  Avhat  shall  I  say  of  the  last  harvest,  the  final 
coming  and  kingdom  of  the  Lord,  when  the  proper 
reward  of  the  sower  and  the  fruit  of  his  toil  shall 
be  revealed  ?  "  The  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  Avorld, 
and  the  reapers  are  the  angels,"  and  the  sheaves, 
unnumbered  myriads  of  glorified  spirits.  For  "the 
ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion 
with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads : 
they  shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and 
sighing  shall  flee  away."  Then  the  sea  shall  give  up 
the  dead  that  are  in  it.  The  silent  wilderness  and 
solitary  graveyard  among  the  mountains,  and  the 
lone  mission  field  shall  give  up  the  dead  that  are 
in  them.  They  shall  come,  myriads  upon  myriads, 
from  all  lands  and  from  all  seas,  beautiful  as  angels 
and  crowned  with  glory.  For  the  seed  of  God  has 
ripened,  and  the  last  field  is  reaped.  Earth's  weary 
sowers  are  there ;  but  oh,  how  changed,  how  glorified, 
as  they  mingle  with  the  happy  throng  ascending 
the  shining  way  chanting  with  angels  the  song  of 
the  harvest  home.  In  loud  anthems  they  sing. 
Worthy  is  the  Lamb  to  receive  honor  and  glory 
and  blessing. 

Lo,  these  are  they,  the  Lord's  sowers;  blessed 
reapers  now.  Yonder  is  Luther  with  his  Germans, 
singing  Gloria  in  Excelsis.  There  is  Calvin  chanting 
the  amazing  grace  of  God.     Wesley  strikes  his  harp 


356  APPENDIX. 

and  mercy's  free  rings  out  on  the  air.  Otterbein, 
Geeting,  and  Newcomer  are  there  at  the  head  of  a 
great  host — their  spiritual  children.  Yonder  is 
Carey  with  his  Hindoos.  There  is  Judson  with  his 
Burmans,  glorious  now  as  angels  of  God.  Stretch- 
ing far  away  among  the  shining  ones  you  discover 
dear  friends,  long  missed  on  earth  now  glorified  in 
heaven.  Oh,  yes,  my  brethren,  some  who  were  fel- 
low-laborers with  you  here  are  now  standing  there. 
Tears,  anguish,  death,  are  all  forgotten,  swallowed 
up  in  the  joy  of  harvest.  Happy  sowers ;  happy 
reapers!  "Blessed  are  ye  that  sow  beside  all  waters." 
Onward,  right  onward,  ye  men  of  God,  sowing  seed 
beside  all  waters.  Faint  not,  in  due  season  you 
shall  reap.  Standing  before  you  as  your  bishop  on 
this  holy  day,  permit  me  to  say  that  after  nearly  a 
half  century  in  this  good  work,  my  present  feeling 
is.  Let  my  eye-sight  decay,  let  my  body  bow  down 
wath  the  weight  of  j'ears,  let  my  gray  hairs  and 
trembling  limbs  admonish  me  that  soon  T  shall 
lie  down  in  the  grave ;  but  while  I  live  let  me  still 
have  a  place  among  those  sowing  the  gospel  seed. 
I  have  a  hope,  a  blessed  hope  that  I  with  you,  shall 
reap  in  joy. 

THE    church's   open   DOOR. 

[Delivered  in  the  United  Brethren  Church  in  Germantown, 
Ohio,  upon  the  anniversary  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  Sabbath 
morning.  May  4,  1884.] 

Text:  "Behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no 
man  can  shut  it:  for  thou  hast  a  little  strength,  and  hast  kept 
my  word,  and  hast  not  denied  my  name." — Revelation  3:8. 


APPENDIX.  357 

This  figurative  language  is  of  the  easiest  inter- 
pretation, and  may  be  thus  explained :  I  have 
placed  in  your  way  every  means  and  privilege  and 
opportunity  of  becoming  fully  acquainted  with, 
and  profiting  by  my  gospel,  which  is  able  to  make 
you  wise  unto  salvation  ;  and  I  am  determined  there 
shall  be  no  effectual  opposition  or  hindrance  to 
prevent  its  full  effect.  But  it  has  a  still  further 
important  meaning.  I  have  placed  before  you 
every  possible  facility  for  propagating  the  gospel. 
You  yourselves  have  it  in  its  purity  and  there  shall 
be  no  hindrance  to  your  spreading  it  abroad.  I 
have  set  you  before  a  door  opened ;  go  forward  in 
your  work.  That  this  is  the  decided  meaning  of 
the  language  in  the  text  will  be  perfectly  apparent 
by  a  comparison  of  this  language  with  that 
used  in  other  parts  of  the  sacred  volume.  I  am 
anxious,  my  brethren,  that  this  subject  should  be;. 
well  fixed  in  your  minds,  because  it  is  my  purpose 
to  adapt  it  to  a  practical  use  of  vital  interest  to  you 
in  your  character  as  Christians  and  ministers.  Let 
us  then  see  the  meaning  of  these  terms  as  elsewhere 
used. 

When  Paul  is  giving  a  reason  for  his  remain- 
ing in  Ephesus  as  late  as  the  feast  of  Pentecost, 
instead  of  going  immediately  to  Corinth,  he  says, 
"  For  a  great  door  and  effectual  is  opened  unto 
me;"  that  is,  as  no  one  can  doubt,  he  found  so 
many  prepared  to  receive  the  gospel,  and  God 
had  been  pleased  to  grant  him  such  success  among 


358  APPENDIX. 

them  that  lie  was  determined  to  stay  a  little  longer, 
hoping  to  be  able  to  win  more  to  Christ.  The  fact 
of  the  history  shows  that  a  great  door  had  been 
opened  for  the  establishing  of  a  most  flourishing 
church  at  Ephesus.  Again,  in  the  second  epistle  to 
the  Corinthians,  giving  some  further  reasons  why 
he  could  not  come  to  Corinth  as  soon  as  they 
desired,  he  said,  "  When  I  came  to  Troas  to  preach 
Christ's  gospel,  ...  a  door  was  opened  unto  me  of 
the  Lord."  In  his  epistle  to  the  Colossians  he  exhorts 
his  beloved  brethren  to  continue  in  prayer  and 
thanksgiving,  and  makes  it  a  particular  request  that 
in  their  supplications  they  would  pray  both  for  him 
and  his  fellow-laborers  that  a  door  of  utterance 
might  be  given  them  to  speak  the  mystery  of 
Christ ;  that  is,  that-  they  themselves  might  be 
enabled  to  open  their  mouths  boldly  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  find  the  way  prepared 
into  the  hearts  of  their  hearers  for  the  entrance  of 
the  word  of  life.  Peter  represents  the  Lord  as 
having  opened  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles. 
When  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  represents  himself  as 
taking  in  his  omnipotent  hand  the  key  Avhich  is  to 
open  the  door  of  the  gospel,  and  Avhen  he  declares 
that  he  openeth,  and  no  man  shutteth,  it  is  equiva- 
lent to  the  declaration  that  he  either  has  removed  or 
will  remove  every  obstacle  which  may  obstruct  the 
progress  and  triumph  of  evangelical  truth.  It 
appears  to  be  in  consideration  of  their  faith  and 
purity  of  doctrine  that  he  had  seen  fit  graciously  to 


APPENDIX.  359 

bestow  these  blessings  on  the  church  at  Philadel- 
phia. '•  I  know  thy  works.  Behold,  I  have  set 
before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it  : 
for  thou  hast  a  little  strength,  and  hast  kept  my 
word,  and  hast  not  denied  my  name."  I  find  it  is 
the  opinion  of  some  commentators  that  a  slight 
censure  is  couched  under  these  terms,  as  if  from 
their  opportunities  they  ought  to  have  a  great  deal 
of  strength  instead  of  a  little.  This  opinion  is  by 
no  means  satisfactory,  and  does  not  agree  with  the 
general  tenor  of  the  commendation ;  for  it  requires 
more  than  a  little  spiritual  strength  to  keep  the 
word  of  Christ  and  not  to  deny  his  name,  especially 
in  circumstances  of  peril  and  of  death.  I  am  fully 
inclined  to  the  belief  that  the  term  "little  strength" 
here  used,  applies  more  particularly  to  the  civil  and 
political  circumstances  of  the  church  and  city, 
and  means  that  they  had  very  little  wealth  or 
political  influence,  and  consequently  no  very  great 
means  of  accomplishing  the  object  set  before 
them.  But  this  view  gives  a  very  important 
emphasis  to  the  whole.  Thus  you  Christians  have 
kept  my  word  and  have  not  denied  my  name.  You 
must  learn,  and  you  must  spread  abroad  the  gospel. 
But  I  know  the  condition  of  your  church,  by  provi- 
dential circumstances.  You  have  no  great  wealth, 
or  influence,  or  political  power.  You  have  but 
little  strength,  but  be  not  discouraged,  for  I  will 
compensate,  and  more  than  compensate,  for  all  these 
disadvantages    under    which    you    labor.      Go    on 


360  APPENDIX. 

zealously  and  jxH'sevovingly,  for  I  have  set  before 
you  an  open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it.  These, 
brethren,  are  the  i)artieulars,  so  far  as  they  are 
immediately  connected  with  the  church  at  Phila- 
delphia. But  as  whatsoever  was  written  aforetime 
was  Avritten  for  our  learning,  I  feel  particularly 
anxious  that  a  subject  of  so  much  importance 
should  be  brought  to  a  more  decided  practical  bear- 
ing on  our  own  circumstances  and  conditions  as  a 
preliminary  step  to  the  practical  deductions  I 
would  draw.  I  would  observe  that  it  is  the  prerog- 
ative of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  remove  obstacles 
out  of  the  way  of  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

The,  progress  of  the  gospel  in  the  world  has 
always  had  to  contend  with  violent  opposition  from 
without.  The  kings  of  the  earth  stand  up,  and  the 
rulers  take  counsel  together  against  the  Lord  and 
his  anointed.  Sui^erstition  has  sometimes  col- 
lected its  devotees  into  one  malicious  group  to 
assail  the  servants  of  God  with  their  ignorant 
clamor  and  their  vile  persecutions.  Sometimes  the 
regal  scepter,  sometimes  the  sacerdotal  robe,  some- 
times the  voice  of  senates,  and  sometimes  the  force 
of  arms  and  the  terrors  of  death  have  been  lifted  up 
against  the  progress  of  the  gospel.  To  use  the 
figurative  language  and  the  facts  of  Jewish  history, 
as  employed  by  another  to  illustrate  this  thought, — 
"JNIany  a  mountain  has  risen  up  to  check  the 
progress  of  Zerubbabel,  many  a  Pliaraoh  has  been 
determined  to  prevent  the  increasing  population  of 


APPENDIX.  8G1 

Israel,  many  a  Rabshakeh  has  insulted  and  blas- 
phemed the  name  of  God  at  the  very  walls  of 
Jerusalem,  many  a  Nebuchadnezzar  in  his  rage  and 
fury  has  committed  the  Shadrachs,  Meshachs,  and 
Abednegos  who  were  determined  to  resist  idolatry, 
to  be  cast  into  a  burning  fiery  furnace."  And  many 
a  Herod,  when  he  bathed  his  sword  in  the  blood  of 
James,  has  proceeded  to  take  Peter  also  as  a  victim 
to  his  wrath.  But,  my  brethren,  the  hearts  of  kings 
are  in  the  Lord's  hands.  Their  lives  are  at  his  dis- 
posal, their  decrees  are  subject  to  his  control,  and  all 
their  powers  are  dependent  upon  him.  Therefore 
he  can  open  a  door  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
and  no  man  can  shut  it.  And  notwithstanding  the 
power  of  monarchs,  the  policy  of  the  priesthood, 
the  pride  of  philosophy,  the  abuse  of  the  vulgar,  the 
ranting  of  infidels,  and  the  terror  of  martyrdom  in 
its  most  distressing  forms,  Jesus  Christ  has  kept 
open  the  door  for  the  transcendent  triumph  of  his 
own  truth.  So  it  has  been,  so  it  is,  and  so  may 
it  ever  be ;  for  whosoever  shall  oppose  the  progress 
of  the  gospel  in  any  of  its  forms  shall  be  anathema 
maranatha,  for  he  loves  not  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

But  the  fact  to  which  I  would  more  particularly 
call  your  attention,  and  which  is  most  intimately 
connected  with  my  text,  is  the  fact  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  has  to  us,  as  a  people,  opened  a  wide 
door  for  the  dissemination  of  the  gospel.  This  is  a 
fact  of  which  a  doubt  cannot  l)e  entertained.     We, 


362  APPENDIX. 

as  a  nation,  have  by  our  commercial  relations 
intercourse  direct  or  indirect  Avith  every  j)ortion  of 
the  habitable  globe.  Our  ships  are  familiar  with 
every  sea,  and  their  sails  whiten  every  port,  far  or 
near,  which  the  enterprise  of  man  has  yet  dis- 
covered. Our  adventurous  citizens  are  found  in 
every  clime,  from  the  frozen  to  the  torrid  zone. 
They  have  followed  the  Indian  track  through  the 
forests,  and  they  have  climbed  the  great  mountain 
summits,  while  their  eyes  have  rested  on  the  un- 
ruffled waters  of  the  Pacific.  God  has  further  set 
before  the  people  of  this  nation  an  open  door  in 
that  he  has  given  them  a  sufficiency  of  wealth  to 
enable  them  to  spare  largely  to  carry  on  the  great 
work  of  evangelizing  the  Avorld.  Therefore  I  say 
Christ  has  set  before  the  American  peoi)le  an  open 
door  by  giving  them  enough  and  to  8])aro.  lie  has 
set  before  us  an  open  door  because  the  great  machin- 
ery is  already  in  motion.  The  Bible  cause,  the 
missionary  cause,  and  the  tract  and  the  Sunday- 
school  cause  are  all  so  many  mighty  engines  by 
which  his  kingdom  is  to  be  advanced  in  the  world. 
This  being  the  fact,  the  resulting  obligation  is  that 
to  us  to  Avhom  this  great  door  of  opportunity  is 
opened,  there  must  be  no  backwardness  in  discharg- 
ing the  duty  God  expects  and  requires.  And  let  me 
tell  you,  l)rethren,  disregard  it  or  not,  as  you  please, 
if  one  individual  among  you  to  whom  God  has 
given  the  least  opportunity  to  do  good,  refuses,  for 
such  refusal  he  will  be  accountable  to  the  Judge  of 


APPENDIX.  363 

all  men,  and  may  hear  from  his  lips,  You  knew 
your  duty,  and  you  did  it  not. 

I.  You  may  improve  this  open  door  by  your 
prayers.  God  has  declared  himself  a  prayer-hearing 
and  a  prayer-answering  God.  For  what  should  we 
pray? 

Pray  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  for  it 
is  not  by  might  nor  by  power,  humanly  speaking, 
that  the  great  work  of  missions  is  to  be  carried  on 
successfully,  but  by  the  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord.  The 
rain  is  not  more  necessary  to  moisten  the  seed,  the 
sun  is  not  more  necessary  to  bring  it  to  maturity. 
Hence,  I  would  observe,  prayer  appears  to  be  of  the 
utmost  importance  in  connection  with  every  attempt 
for  the  conversion  of  heathen  nations.  It  will  be 
found  that  in  proportion  as  Christians  are  earnest  in 
their  sifpplications  for  others  their  devotions  will  be 
profitable  to  their  own  souls.  Our  bosoms  warm 
and  expand  in  praying  for  our  fellow-creatures. 
This  is  not  vain  speculation,  but  the  voice  of  expe- 
rience. The  best  and  happiest  Christians  are  those 
who  pray  and  labor  most  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners.  Prayer  for  ourselves  is  never  so  acceptable 
to  God  as  when  accompanied  with  intercession  for 
others — prayer  in  the  closet,  prayer  on  those  occa- 
sions when  we  meet  to  consult  as  to  the  best  plans 
of  operation.  It  was  while  the  church  at  Antioch 
was  praying  and  waiting  on  the  Lord  and  fasting 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  said,  "Separate  me  Barnabas 
and  Saul   for  the   work  whereunto   I  have   called 


364  APPENDIX. 

them."  As  the  Spirit  descended  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost it  appears  that  in  every  age  of  the  world  prayer, 
a  spirit  of  prayer,  for  this  great  object  has  been  the 
precursor  of  real  success.  Never  is  a  mission  more 
likely  to  prosper  than  when  it  is  begun  in  the  spirit 
of  earnest  prayer  for  the  accomimnying  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  if  ever  this  Spirit  departs  from 
us  "  the  glory  has  departed"  from  our  mission  work. 
God  help  us  pray  believingly  and  without  ceasing 
for  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  render  all  means 
which  may  be  employed  for  the  conversion  of  men 
effectual.  It  is  "  not  by  might  nor  by  power,"  but 
by  the  Spirit,  that  means  are  attended  with  a  saving 
energy. 

Had  we  millions  of  the  most  learned,  eloquent, 
and  holy  preachers  in  Christendom  to  send  forth,  and 
all  the  funds  that  could  be  asked  or  desired  for  this 
enterprise  in  which  we  are  engaged,  all  would  be  in 
vain  unless  the  power  of  the  almighty  Spirit  accom- 
pany our  labors.  While,  therefore,  we  labor  with 
unwavering  perseverance  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world,  while  we  raise  funds  with  growing  lil^erality, 
Avhile  Ave  select,  instruct,  and  send  forth  the  most 
devoted  missionaries  we  can  find,  and  while  we 
employ  all  the  means  in  our  power  for  imparting 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,  let  us  remember  that  all 
will  be  unavailing  unless  the  Holy  Spirit  accom- 
pany and  give  energy  to  the  means  employed.  He 
that  planteth  is  notliing,  he  that  watereth  is 
nothing,  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase.     Oh,  it 


APPENDIX.  365 

is  sweet  to  the  believing  Tieart  to  lean  on  God,  to 
plead  his  promises,  and  to  rejoice  in  the  assurance 
that  though  man  cannot  succeed  by  reason  of  his 
weakness,  He  with  whom  all  things  are  possible,  and 
who  cannot  lie,  has  promised  that  the  whole  earth 
shall  be  filled  with  his  glory,  and  that  he  is  able  and 
faithful  to  give  success.  In  earnest  prayer  for  the 
Holy  Spirit's  influence  everyone  can  unite;  and 
every  tear  in  the  closet,  every  prayer  in  the  heart 
over  those  who  are  dead  in  their  sin,  every  prayer 
lifted  up  in  retirement  where  no  eye  sees  but  the 
eye  of  Him  who  seeth  in  secret,  affords  a  most 
important  means  of  entering  within  the  open  door 
of  opportunity. 

In  this  great  age  of  Christian  effort  it  may  be  said 
that  no  prayer  is  complete  unless  it  embraces  in  its 
heart-speaking  language  the  immortal  interests  of 
our  fellow-men  ;  and  that  a  man's  religion  may  well 
be  doubted,  even  though  he  goes  regularly  upon  his 
knees  before  the  throne  of  grace,  if  he  stints  and 
stifles  his  petitions  within  the  miserable  and  con- 
tracted compass  of  his  own  bosom.  Oh,  with  what 
fervor  did  the  holy  men  of  old  pray  for  the  progress 
of  the  gospel  of  God.  "Awake!  awake!  put  on 
strength,  0  arm  of  the  Lord ! "  was  the  prayer  of 
Isaiah.  Awake  as  in  the  ancient  days,  in  the  gener- 
ations of  old. 

Within  later  years  Christians  have  been  much 
more  alive  to  the  importance  of  this  dut}" ;  and  one 
of  the  holiest  alliances  which  was  ever  made  was 


366  APPENDIX. 

that  alliance  of  intercession  which  for  several  years 
has  brought  thousands  of  Christians  once  in  each 
month  to  kneel  before  the  mercy-seat  of  heaven  to 
supplicate  with  God  for  the  cause  of  missions. 
There  is  amazing  grandeur  in  the  idea  that  in  Asia, 
in  Europe,  in  America,  and,  no  doubt,  also  in  Africa, 
thousands  of  voices  are  lifted  up  with  one  consent, 
which  for  Zion's  sake  will  not  hold  their  peace, 
and  for  Jerusalem's  sake  will  not  rest  "until  the 
righteousness  thereof  go  forth  as  brightness  and  the 
salvation  thereof  as  ar  lamp  that  burnetii."  I  am 
constrained  to  believe  that  the  success  of  missionary 
labor  in  recent  years  at  home  and  abroad  has  been 
given  to  us  as  an  answer  to  the  prayers  of  those 
many  thousands  who  have  made  the  cause  of  Christ 
the  subject  of  their  special  petitions. 

11.  An  open  door  is  set  before  us  to  be  entered 
through  personal  exertion. 

Brethren,  the  very  purpose  for  which  the  benefits 
of  Christianity  have  been  brought  to  you  is  that 
you  should  not  live  unto  yourselves,  but  unto  Him 
who  died  and  rose  again ;  it  is  said  in  another 
place  that  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself  There  is 
not  a  man  or  a  woman  in  any  congregation  making 
a  part  of  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ,  but  has  influence  over  others;  and  there  is 
not  one  but  could  bring  some  accession  to  the  cause 
of  Christ,  and  thus  come  to  "  the  help  of  the  Lord 
against  the  mighty."  Time  was,  my  brethren,  when 
the  Israelites  were  captives  to  Jabin,  king  of  Canaan  ; 


APPENDIX.  367 

but  ty  the  word  of  the  Lord  they  were  aroused  to 
assert  their  liberty,  and  under  the  prophetic  direc- 
tion of  Deborah,  the  wife  of  Lapidoth,  they  were 
called  to  throw  off  the  ignominious  yoke.  The 
tribes  of  Reuben,  of  Asher,  and  of  Dan,  more  distant 
from  the  immediate  scenes  of  oppression,  refused  to 
leave  their  homes  to  assist  their  afflicted  brethren. 
The  battle  was  fought  without  them,  and  without 
them  was  the  victory  won.  When  the  victors 
returned  they  raised  the  voice  of  triumph ;  and  as 
the  tide  of  inspiration  rolled  along,  thus  sang  Deb- 
orah, "  Praise  ye  the  Lord  for  the  avenging  of  Israel 
when  the  people  willingly  offered  themselves."  She 
then  recapitulates  the  tribes  who  thus  offered  them- 
selves to  the  cause  of  God ;  but  when  she  comes  to 
mention  the  tribes  of  Reuben,  Dan,  and  Asher  she 
breaks  into  the  mournful  strain,  Reuben,  why 
abodest  thou  among  the  sheep-folds  to  hear  the  bleat- 
ing of  the  flocks  ?  Dan,  why  didst  thou  remain  in 
the  ships?  Asher,  why  continued  thou  on  the 
shore  ?  "  Zebulun  and  Naphtali  were  a  people  that 
jeoparded  their  lives  unto  the  death  in  the  high 
places  of  the  field.  The  kings  came  and  fought; 
then  fought  the  kings  of  Canaan  in  Taanach  by  the 
waters  of  Megiddo.  .  .Curse  ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel 
•of  the  Lord,  curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof; 
because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty."  Would 
you,  my  brethren,  prefer  to  resemble  the  ungrate- 
ful and  selfish  tribes  of  Reuben,  Dan,  and  Asher? 


368  APPENDIX. 

Was  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  the  yoke  of  Jabin, 
king  of  Canaan,  a  matter  of  greater  moment  than  is 
the  deliverance  of  your  brethren  from  the  captivity 
of  sin,  and  ignorance,  and  superstition,  and  death? 
Strive,  then,  by  your  personal  influence  and  endeav- 
ors with  others  to  advance  the  cause  of  Christ.  It 
is  your  duty,  founded  on  the  benefits  of  Christianity 
which  have  been  brought  and  laid  as  a  free  gift  at 
your  very  doors.  Refuse  that  exertion,  refuse 
that  personal  influence  and  endeavor,  and  as  on  the 
inspired  scroll  of  history  it  is  written,  so  shall  it 
be  against  you,  "  Curse  ye  Meroz,  .  .  .  curse  ye  bit- 
terly the  inhabitants  thereof;  because  they  came  not 
to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord 
against  the  mighty."  But  offer  yourselves,  my 
brethren,  like  the  other  tribes  of  Israel,  willingly  to 
God,  and  it  shall  be  written,  "  They  that  be  wise 
shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and 
they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  for 
ever  and  ever." 

My  brethren,  there  is  not  in  the  Bible  a  plainer 
maxim  than  that  he  who  receives  the  gospel,  is 
bound  to  make  that  gospel  known.  Heaven  is  not 
farther  removed  from  earth  than  is  true  religion  from 
every  approach  to  selfishness.  In  opposition  to  the 
religion  of  selfishness,  indolence,  and  seclusion,  that 
Avhich  the  Bible  enjoins  is  active,  practical,  and 
diffusive,  full  of  charity  and  good  fruits,  seeking 
out  like  our  great  Example  the  abodes  of  destitution 
and  sorrow,  instructing  the  ignorant,  lifting  up  the 


APPENDIX.  369 

depressed,  opening  wide  the  gate  of  life  to  the 
perishing,  pouring  the  beams  of  day  on  those  who 
sit  in  the  shadow  of  death.  Brethren  in  Christ, 
wake  up  to  your  personal  responsibility,  and  "  view 
the  day  of  retribution."     Think  how  you  will  hear, 

"  From  your  Redeemer's  lips  the  awful  words, 
Thy  brother  perishing  within  thy  gates, 
Thou  sawest.    Thy  brother  hungered,  was  athirst, 
Was  naked,  and  thou  saw'st  it.    He  was  sick. 
Thou  didst  withhold  the  healing;  was  in  prison 
To  vice  and  ignorance,  nor  didst  thou  send 
To  set  him  free.    Oh,  ere  that  hour  of  doom, 
Whence  there  is  no  reprieve,  brethren,  awake 
From  this  dark  dream  of  inactivity  and  selfishness." 

III.  You  can,  my  brethren,  help  forward  the 
cause  of  Christ  by  your  liberal  contributions. 

That  this  is  the  duty  of  Christians  it  would  be  an 
insult  to  attempt  to  prove.  I  boldly  and  fearlessly 
assert  that  if  you  believe  the  Scriptures  you  cannot 
doubt  it.  However  little  you  may  reflect  upon  it, 
brethren,  yet  you  are  but  stewards  of  the  bounty 
which  God  has  bestowed  upon  you;  and  for  the 
exercise  of  that  stewardship  you  must  render  up  an 
account  to  God.  It  is  useless  to  keep  back  the 
truth  that  the  wealth  you  enjoy  is  not  your  own. 
It  is  given  of  God  for  the  purpose  of  employment 
to  do  good  to  your  fellow-man.  When  primitive 
Christians  embraced  Christ  they  counted  all  things 
loss  for  him  and  his  cause ;  and  the  surrender  was 
an  honest,  whole-souled  transaction,  never  to  be 
reconsidered,  never  to  be  regretted.    Hence  from  the 


370  APPENDIX. 

hour  of  their  conversion  they  made  little  account  of 
property.  If  it  was  confiscated,  they  took  joyfully 
the  spoiling  of  their  goods,  assured  that  in  heaven 
they  had  a  better  and  more  enduring  substance. 
When  the  cause  of  Christ  required  it,  how  ready 
were  they  to  lay  all  at  the  feet  of  the  missionaries. 
Poor  as  were  the  first  Christians,  they  were  liberal 
to  a  degree  seldom  surpassed.  We  from  our  much 
give  little;  they  from  their  little  gave  much. 
"  Their  deep  poverty  abounded  unto  the  riches  of 
their  liberality."  Baptized  covetousness  was  the 
product  of  a  later  age.  Have  we  this  spirit  of 
benevolence  and  sacrifice?  Let  us  not  evade  the 
question,  but  answer  it.  Why  is  it  necessary  for  so 
much  to  be  said  and  done  by  the  pulpit  and  the 
press,  by  corresponding  secretaries  and  traveling 
agents,  to  obtain  our  scanty  supplies  of  missionaries 
and  gather  from  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
United  Brethren,  at  the  rate  of  forty  cents  each, 
enough  to  send  those  few  missionaries  to  millions 
of  perishing  heathen.  0  Jesus,  is  this  thy  church? 
Are  these  the  people  whom  thou  didst  redeem  by 
thy  precious  blood,  and  who  with  the  first  throb- 
bings  of  the  new  heart  have  severally  inquired, 
"  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  When 
Kochet-Thing,  the  Karen  convert,  was  in  this 
country,  he  was  urged  on  a  certain  occasion  to 
address  a  congregation  in  respect  to  their  duty  to 
give  of  their  means  to  send  out  missionaries  and 
support    them.       After    a    moment    of    downcast 


APPENDIX.  371 

thoughtfulness  he  asked,  with  evident  emotion, 
"  Has  not  Jesus  Christ  told  them  to  do  so  ?"  "  Oh, 
yes,"  was  the  reply,  "but  Ave  wish  you  to  remind 
them  of  their  duty."  "Oh,  no,"  said  the  Karen, 
"if  they  will  not  obey  Jesus  Christ  they  will  not 
obey  me."  He  in  his  simplicity  considered  the 
command  of  the  Master  all  sufficient. 

It  has  been  said  that  in  the  hearts  of  our  brethren 
there  are  streams  of  benevolence — ice-bound,  it  may 
be,  and  pent  up  in  the  rocks  of  ignorance  and  preju- 
dice ;  yet,  if  but  a  Moses  go  to  them  and  smite  those 
rocks,  the  stream  of  charity  will  flow  forth  to 
gladden  all  the  desert.  Indeed !  and  had  the  primi- 
tive Christians  such  Horeb  hearts,  yielding  nothing 
to  the  cause  of  God,  nothing  to  the  claims  of  a 
suffering,  dying  world  until  smitten  by  a  foreign 
force  ?  Was  the  missionary  enterprise  in  their  day  a 
crouching  mendicant,  wandering  among  the  churches 
soliciting  with  a  pauper's  importunity  the  parings 
of  liberal  incomes,  and  then  proclaiming  at  every 
corner  the  name  and  residence  of  every  donor  of 
twenty-five  cents,  lest,  forsooth,  if  his  reluctantly 
bestowed  contribution  should  not  be  trumpeted, 
he  might  cease  to  care  for  the  will  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  lose  his  interest  in  the  salvation  of  the  world, 
and  the  missionary  treasury  feel  no  more  of  the 
overflowings  of  his  benevolence?  Tell  me,  men 
and  brethren  and  fathers,  were  such  the  Christians 
of  the  age  of  Barnabas  and  Philemon  and  Polycarp  ? 

Thus,  my  brethren,  with  prayers,  with   personal 


372  APPENDIX. 

efforts,  and  with  pecuniary  exertions  yon  may,  and 
I  am  persuaded  you  Avill,  improve  this  open  door. 
The  object  of  all  the  means  employed  is  to  convey 
the  news  of  salvation  to  those  who  are  perishing. 
That  object  will  not  be  accomplished  until  every 
idol  temple  shall  have  been  utterly  abolished  and  a 
temple  to  Jehovah  erected  in  its  room ;  until  this 
earth,  instead  of  being  a  theater  on  which  mortal 
beings  are  preparing  by  crime,  for  eternal  death, 
shall  become  one  universal  temple  in  which  the 
children  of  men  are  learning  the  anthems  of  the 
blessed  above,  and  becoming  meet  to  join  the  gen- 
eral assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born  whose 
names  are  written  in  heaven. 

Members  of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  from 
the  habitation  of  his  holiness  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
looks  down  upon  you,  and  as  he  calls  to  j^our  mind 
your  highly  privileged  political  condition,  your 
blessed  country,  your  glorious  opportunities,  he 
says,  in  language  that  cannot  be  misunderstood, 
Behold,  I  have  set  before  you  an  open  door ;  and  as 
you  value  the  eternal  interests  of  your  fellow-men, 
and  as  you  estimate  divine  favor,  let  not  the  opportu- 
nity be  neglected.  If  you  have  been  backAvard  and 
lukewarm,  be  so  no  longer. 

0,  my  beloved  brethren,  let  this  subject  dwell  in 
your  hearts,  and  let  it  animate  you  whenever  in  the 
providence  of  God  you  are  called  either  for  personal 
effort  or  for  pecuniary  aid  to  enter  the  open  door. 
Neglect  to  do  so  and  at  the  day  of  doom  the  dark 


APPENDIX.  373 

banner  which  shall  wave  over  your  head  Avill  be, 
"  Curse  ye  Meroz,"  and  in  the  flames  of  the  passing 
universe  and  in  the  melting  of  the  elements  will 
sound,  "  Curse  ye  Meroz,"  and  on  the  brazen  gates 
of  hell  will  be  written  in  characters  of  eternal  fire, 
"Curse  ye  Meroz,  curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants 
thereof;  because  they  came  not  ...  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 

If  any  man,  however,  is  smitten  with  fear,  let  him 
retreat.  If  any  man  is  faint-hearted,  let  him  draw 
back.  If  any  man  tremble  at  his  proportion  of  the 
charges  for  evangelizing  the  whole  world,  let  him 
depart.  If  any  man  is  alarmed  at  the  noise  which 
precedes  the  last  conflict,  let  him  hide  himself  with 
his  money  and  talent  in  the  earth ;  but  let  all  M^ho 
love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  and  wait  for 
his  appearing  and  glory,  give  themselves  anew  to 
his  service,  and  break  the  earthen  vessel  and  lift  up 
their  voices  and  shout ;  and  the  victory,  and  more 
than  the  victory  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the 
saints  of  the  most  high  God,  and  a  great  voice  out 
of  heaven  shall  be  heard  saying,  Behold  the  taber- 
nacle of  God  is  with  men  and  he  will  dwell  with 
them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God  him- 
self shall  be  with  them  and  be  their  God. 

SPIRITUAL    PROSPERITY. 

"Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem:  they  shall  prosper  that 
love  thee. — Psalm  122:6. 

I.  What  is  implied  in  prosperity  and  when  may 
it  be  said  the  church  is  in  a  prosperous  condition? 


374  APPENDIX. 

1.  The  prosperity  of  the  church  does  not  consist 
in  outward  splendor  and  show.  It  may  possess  all 
the  massive  grandeur  and  sublimity  of  the  Gothic, 
all  the  rich  and  tasteful  embellishments  and  all  the 
fine  proportions  of  Greek  architecture,  and  yet  be 
like  the  whitened  sepulchres  and  garnished  tombs  of 
the  prophets,  beautiful  without,  but  within  filled 
with  dead  men's  bones  and  all  uncleanness;  poor 
and  miserable.  Nothing  of  mere  external  appear- 
ance can  be  taken  as  an  evidence  of  prosperity. 

It  is  not  that  all  its  arrangements  are  comfort- 
able and  pleasant,  or  that  it  has  splendid  houses 
of  worship,  which  constitutes  the  prosperity 
of  the  church.  Permit  me  here  to  offer  a  pass- 
ing remark  lest  I  be  misunderstood.  I  do  not 
believe  that  we  can  devote  too  much  to  give  the 
house  of  God  a  dignity,  and  grandeur,  and  a 
beauty  of  appearance  which  may  honor  him  in 
whose  name  it  is  erected.  The  gathered  gold  of  ages 
was  expended  in  the  building  of  the  first  house  ever 
erected  as  the  place  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  and  gold  and  silver  and  the  highest  devices  of 
the  artists  were  made  subservient  to  the  solemnities 
of  worship.  But  this  may  all  be  and  yet  a  church 
may  be  sunk  in  spiritual  penury.  On  the  other 
hand  the  richest  things  of  the  Spirit  may  have  a 
place  in  the  church  unsightly  in  its  form  and 
mean  in  its  embellishments.  I  have  seen,  and  so 
have  some  of  you,  my  brethren,  the  house  of  God 
built  of  logs  which  the  axe  of  the  worshiper  hewed 


APPENDIX.  375 

out  of  the  sturdy  oak  or  the  lofty  pine,  and  we  have 
seen  it  when  it  had  no  ornaments ;  where  the  rude 
and  ungarnished  pulpit  served  only  to  bear  the 
Bible,  and  yet  we  have  sometimes,  in  such  condi- 
tions, felt  and  known  that  God  was  present  and  that 
there  was  a  spirituality  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
Avorshiped  which  gave  evidence  of  spiritual  pros- 
perity, with  which  no  gold,  and  no  silver,  and  no 
embellishments  can  possibly  compare. 

2.  Again,  it  is  not  the  wealth  or  high  standing 
of  those  who  come  to  the  house  of  God  which  con- 
stitutes the  prosperity  of  the  church;  for  it  is  a 
melancholy  fact  that  comparatively  few  are  those 
among  the  wealthy  and  the  elevated  in  society  who 
become  the  humble  disciples  of  the  meek  and 
lowly  Savior.  These  cases,  however,  do  sometimes 
occur,  and  when  they  do,  it  becomes  a  matter  as  well 
of  gratulation  as  of  notoriety  and  remark.  While  on 
the  other  hand  there  might  be  a  church  where  there 
Was  no  individual  raised  in  temporal  circumstances 
above  the  necessity  of  laboring  with  his  hands  to 
procure  his  subsistence,  and  where  learning  and 
science  found  no  entrance,  and  yet  be  prosperous 
beyond  the  power  of  language  to  convey,  in  the 
graces  and  virtues  which  are  noticed  and  valued 
in  the  sight  of  God. 

3.  Numerical  strength  alone  is  no  evidence  of 
prosperity. 

4.  Multiplication  of  forms  and  ceremonies  is  no 
evidence  of  prosperity. 


376  APPEXDLX. 

I  will  now  notice  what  are  evidences  of  pros- 
perity. 

I.     There  must  he  purity.     In  what? 

(1).  In  doctrine.  God  never  did,  does  not  now, 
and  never  Avill  hless  and  own  false  doctrine  in  the 
conversion  of  souls.  The  importance  of  maintain- 
ing pure  doctrine  is  placed  in  the  strongest  light 
by  the  language  of  the  word  of  God  which  rep- 
resents true  religion  under  the  beautiful  and  appro- 
priate figure  of  walking  in  truth,  and  walking 
Avith  God  who  is  the  great  source  and  model  of  all 
truth.  These  figures  may  be  considered  as  teaching 
the  importance  of  sound  doctrine,  but  the  sacred 
articles  abound  with  declarations  more  direct  and 
solemn.  Notice  the  following :  "  Hold  fast  the  form 
of  sound  words  which  thou  hast  heard  of  me."  "  Ear- 
nestly contend  for  the  faith  which  Avas  once  deliver- 
ed unto  the  saints."  "Take  heed  unto  thyself  and  unto 
the  doctrine,"  etc.  "Whosoever  .  .  .  abideth  not  in 
the  doctrine  of  Christ,  hath  not  God."  Hold  fast  the 
faithful  word  that  you  may  be  able  "  by  sound  doc- 
trine both  to  exhort  and  to  convince  thegainsayers." 

As  long  as  purity  of  doctrine  continues  to  be 
])reached  and  generally  received  in  the  church,  the 
effect  is  uniformly  benign.  The  word  has  free  course 
and  is  glorified,  sinners  are  convinced  and  con- 
verted, saints  are  edified  and  comforted,  and  the 
membership  of  the  church  walk  together  in  the  fear 
of  God  and  in  the  consolations  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  in  proportion  as  impure  doctrine  gains  ground 


APPENDIX.  377 

in  the  church,  everything  good  declines.  Discord, 
strife,  division,  and  moral  desolation  become  more 
and  more  prevalent.  The  prevalence  of  doctrinal 
error  and  the  decline  of  practical  religion  have 
always  gone  hand  in  hand.  And  there  is  another 
fact  equally  remarkable  and  instructive.  When 
false  doctrines  have  begun  to  appear  in  any  church, 
the  course  has  too  commonly  been  from  one  degree  of 
heterodoxy  to  another  until  the  lowest  depression  is 
reached.  When  a  church  apostatize  from  purity  of 
doctrine,  they  with  deplorable  frequency  have  been 
found  to  continue  in  the  downward  course  until 
they  reach  the  bottom  of  the  declining  plane. 

2.  Purity  in  the  ministry.  A  ministry  that  is 
pure  imbibes  the  spirit  of  Christ  and  possesses  a 
large  portion  of  the  mind  that  was  also  in  him. 

Men  may  hold  the  truth  with  intelligent  accuracy 
and  contend  for  it  with  earnestness  without  submit- 
ting to  its  power.  No  minister  is  pure  unless  he 
receives  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it ;  unless  he  un- 
feignedly  yields  to  Christ  his  love  and  confidence  as 
his  great  high  priest  and  king  as  well  as  his  prophet. 
A  pure  minister  is  not  only  sound  in  faith,  but  also 
a  converted  man ;  a  cordial,  devoted,  experimental 
Christian ;  a  man  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  who 
speaks  that  which  he  knows,  and  testifies  to  that 
which  he  has  experienced ;  Avho  loves  his  Master  and 
his  work  above  all  things,  and  who  accounts  it  his 
highest  honor  to  be  like  Christ,  and  his  meat  and 
drink,  to  do  his  will. 


378  APPENDIX. 

He  rejects  the  aspirings  of  carnal  ambition.  He 
is  willing  to  learn  of  him  who  was  meek  and  lowly 
in  heart.  A  pure  minister  is  one  who  lives  daily 
under  the  power  of  that  religion  which  he  preaches 
to  others,  who  walks  with  God,  who  maintains  a  life 
of  fellowship  with  the  Father  of  his  spirit,  and  with 
his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  His  hatred  of  sin,  his  self- 
denial,  his  meekness,  his  forgiveness  of  injuries,  his 
benevolence,  his  conscientious  regard  for  truth  and 
justice  in  every  thing,  his  deadness  to  the  world,  his 
condescension  to  the  poorest  and  weakest  of  his 
flock,  his  disinterestedness,  his  holy  zeal  and  dili- 
gence, all  bear  witness  that  the  love  of  Christ 
constrains  him,  and  that  the  glory  of  Christ  is  the 
great  end  for  which  he  lives. 

A  church  will  never  experience  or  enjoy  the  pros- 
perity so  much  desired  under  the  ministration  of  a 
proud,  high-minded,  selfish,  trifling  ministry.  The 
minister  must  be  pure  above  suspicion.  He  must 
be  able  to  say  to  his  flock,  follow  me  as  I  follow 
Christ.  He  must  be  an  example  to  his  flock.  A 
pure  minister  is  one  of  whom  the  enemies  of  religion 
Avill  be  compelled  to  say,  we  can  find  no  fault  in  this 
man  unless  it  be  in  the  worship  of  his  God. 

3.  Purity  in  the  membership.  A  church  com- 
l^osed  of  members,  no  matter  how  numerous,  who 
are  strangers  to  the  regenerating  grace  of  God,  not 
born  of  the  Spirit,  without  a  personal  experimental 
interest  in  the  death  and  righteousness  of  Christ,  is 
not  in  a  prosperous  condition.     The  strength  of  a 


APPENDIX.  379 

church  is  the  purity  of  the  faith  of  those  who 
compose  the  membership  of  the  church ;  is  the  fact 
that  they  are  building  alone  for  salvation  on  that 
foundation  than  which  none  other  can  be  laid,  Jesus 
Christ  and  him  crucified ;  is  in  the  deep  emotion  of 
the  hearts  of  those  who  compose  the  stated  worshipp- 
ers ;  is  in  the  purity  and  holiness  of  their  lives,  and 
in  the  consistency  of  their  Christian  walk  and  con- 
versation ;  is  in  the  affections  of  their  hearts  fixed 
on  eternal  things. 

When  you  see  the  members  of  a  church  regular 
and  systematic  in  their  attendance,  devout  in  their 
demeanor  in  the  house  of  God ;  when  you  see  them 
anxious  to  embrace  every  opportunity  of  becoming 
wise  unto  salvation;  when  you  see  them  deeply 
engaged  in  the  things  of  personal  religion ;  when 
you  find  them  active  and  zealous  in  whatever  may 
advance  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom ; 
when  you  see  them  adorning  the  doctrine  of  God, 
their  Savior,  and  in  a  crooked  and  perverse  genera- 
tion seeking  to  keep  themselves  unspotted  from  the 
world;  when  Bible,  missionary  and  Sunday-school 
associations  are  fostered  and  encouraged,  and  thus 
■when  superadded  to  personal  piety  there  is  a  noble 
and  elevated  standard  in  their  benevolence,  then  the 
church  may  be  represented  as  in  a  prosperous  con- 
dition; and  then,  no  matter  what  its  outward 
condition,  the  high  and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth 
eternity  looks  down  with  complacency  on  the  work 
he  himself  hath  wrought ;  and  whether  he  writes  it 


380  APPENDIX. 

on  marble  or  on  humbler  materials  he  gives  to  that 
church  the  noblest  commendation  that  a  church 
ever  received. 

4.  Purity  in  the  administration  of  discipline. 
Mark  the  evil  of  defective  discipline.  You  have 
read  the  censure  which  fell  upon  the  church  of 
Thyatira.  Was  it  not  in  consequence  of  not 
having  dealt  with  that  woman  Jezebel,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  church,  as  she  deserved,  by  cutting 
her  off  from  the  communion  of  the  church  and 
drawing  a  long  and  well  marked  line  of  distinction  ? 
But  a!B  she  was  a  woman  of  power,  of  wealth,  of  influ- 
ence, of  great  cunning,  they  appear  to  have  been  afraid 
to  excommunicate  her,  and  it  was  for  this  the  church 
of  Thyatira  was  censured.  For  God  will  not  only 
have  his  people  holy  but  he  will  have  them  hate  and 
abhor  every  approach  to  evil.  And,  my  brethren, 
I  do  think  that  want  of  discipline  is  now  one  of  the 
trying  sins  which  presses  its  heavy  weight  upon  the 
Christian  church.  Are  not  members  too  often 
allowed  to  entertain  what  heretical  notions  they 
please,  to  be  just  as  inconsistent  as  they  please,  just 
as  worldly-minded  and  covetous  as  they  please, 
neglect  the  means  of  grace  as  they  please,  and  yet 
we  must  not  offend  them? 

But,  my  brethren,  the  church  of  Christ  should  be 
composed  of  those  who  are  true  believers  in  him 
and  are  truly  converted  by  his  grace;  for  God  never 
intended  that  his  religion  should  be  placed  in  any 
guardianship  but  tlint   of  piety  of   heart  and   life. 


APPENDIX.  381 

The  Christian  church,  I  may  say  it  in  the  face 
of  this  congregation,  has  an  awful  amount  of  cen- 
sure standing  against  her  for  want  of  purity  in  the 
administration  of  discipline.  From  the  highest 
collective  body  down  to  the  local  government  of 
individual  churches,  there  is  too  much  trusting  to 
everything  more  than  piety. 

Why  is  it  that  there  is  so  much  inconsistency  in 
the  Christian  profession  ?  Why,  simply  because  we 
are  afraid  of  giving  offense  by  telling  an  inconsist- 
ent, worldly-minded  professor  of  religion  that  he 
has  no  part  or  lot  in  this  matter,  and  that  he  had 
better  make  no  profession  than  not  to  give  the 
heart  and  life  to  God. 

Fear  to  exercise  discipline  brought  a  censure  on 
Thyatira,  and  it  will  always  bring  a  censure  from 
God,  let  the  condition  of  a  church  be  what  it  may. 
But  in  the  administration  of  discipline  we  must 
be  careful  to  proceed  according  to  the  principles  and 
teachings  of  the  New  Testament  scriptures. 

5.  If  a  church  is  to  prosper  there  must  be  the 
cultivation  of  peace  and  union  among  the  members. 
Sometimes  diversity  of  opinion  may  be  an  occasion 
for  derision  and  contention.  It  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  we  should  all  think  alike  concerning  everything 
in  this  world,  however  near  we  may  be  to  each  other 
in  association,  or  however  bound  to  each  other  by 
the  strong  cords  of  affection. 

Yet  diversity  of  opinion  in  the  church  has  often 
proved  very  injurious.      Some    have  differed  from 


382  APPENDIX. 

others  in  doctrine,  pretending  to  greater  discoveries, 
insinuating  that  their  fellow-nienihers  are  not  ortho- 
dox; that  there  is  a  sad  falling  of!'  as  to  the  great 
truths  of  the  gospel,  and  that  professors  are  strangely 
changed  from  what  they  were  formerly.  These 
and  similar  charges  have  been  circulated  and  re- 
peated until  the  minds  of  many  have  been  poisoned ; 
a  coldness  has  taken  place,  prayer  meetings  have 
been  neglected  and  finally  an  oi)en  division  has  been 
produced. 

In  order  to  avoid  strife  and  division,  learn  to  cul- 
tivate a  meek  and  quiet  spirit.  Meekness  is  one 
distinguishing  badge  of  Christianity.  We  expect 
others  to  bear  with  us;  we  must  bear  with  them. 
Everything  ma}'  not  be  according  to  my  mind,  but 
if  I  be  a  Christian  I  must  not  easily  be  offended. 
Let  me  rather  try  to  conquer  by  meekness,  and  thus, 
perhaps,  \[  shall  win  the  soul  of  my  brother  while  I 
possess  my  own.  How  many  divisions  might  have 
been  prevented,  how  many  churches  would  still 
have  been  peaceful  if  this  happy  disposition  had 
been  cultivated. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  is  a  man  to  sit  down  quietly 
and  sacrifice  truth  to  peace?  By  no  means,  but  the 
fact  is  that  very  often  truth  is  not  the  object  but 
something  inferior  under  its  garb.  I  therefore 
repeat,  study  meekness,  forbearance,  kindness,  char- 
ity, and  this  will  doubtless  prove  a  very  powerful 
antidote  against  division  and  discord  in  the  church. 

How  plain   the  teachings  of  the  gosj^el   touching 


APPENDIX.  383 

the  importance  of  cultivating  peace.  "  Keep  the 
unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace."  "Follow 
peace  with  all  men."  *'  Blessed  are  the  peace- 
makers." Remember,  my  beloved  brethren,  our 
God  is  the  God  of  peace ;  that  the  Captain  of  our 
salvation  is  the  Prince  of  peace ;  that  the  gospel  is 
the  gospel  of  peace ;  that  our  heaven  is  the  residence 
of  everlasting  peace.  To  the  blessed  abode  of  peace 
may  we  look  under  every  disquietude  on  earth; 
and  there  may  we  all  arrive  at  last.  Be  united : 
union  is  strength ;  united  we  stand.  Be  united  in 
your  prayers ;  be  united  in  your  efforts. 

6.  It  is  an  evidence  of  prosperity  when  the 
blessed  Savior  is  in  the  church  by  his  Holy  Spirit. 
Then  the  minister  will  not  live,  preach,  and  labor  in 
vain  ;  then  the  gospel  will  not  come  in  word  only  to 
the  hearers,  but  in  power ;  then  the  gospel  will  be 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 

Finally  we  are  to  pray  for  the  peace  of  the  church. 
What  is  more  suitable  or  necessary  ?  Such  blessing 
God  will  be  delighted  to  grant.  Such  prayer  will 
bring  prosperity  to  the  church  and  praise  to  God. 


SKETCHES. 


THE    CHURCH. 

Text:  "And  I  say  also  unto  thee,  That  thou  art  Peter,  and 
upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church;  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it." — Matthew  16: 18. 

I.     What  is  meant  by  the  church? 

1.  Primary  meaning,  congregation  or  assemblage. 

2.  Congregation  of  believers.  Church  at  Colosse. 
Corinth.  Seven  churches  of  Asia.  In  private 
houses,  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  Nymphas. 

3.  Used  to  represent  the  whole  body  of  Chris- 
tians. Christ  the  head  of  the  body ;  head  over  all 
things  to  the  church. 

4.  God  has  always  had  a  church — Abel,  Abra- 
ham, ark,  bondage  in  the  wilderness. 

5.  The  church  and  the  world  form  two  distinct 
communities.  "  If  ye  were  of  the  world."  "  My 
kingdom  is  not  of  the  world."  "  Ye  are  a  chosen 
generation."  Efforts  to  unite  church  and  world 
jnust  be  vain.     Laws  and  subjects. 

6.  Eepresented  by  various  figures.  Garden,  vine- 
yard, sheep-fold,  a  well  constructed  building,  "  Ye 
are  God's  husbandry;  ye  are  God's  building." 
'•Christ  as  a  son   over   his   OAvn   house."     "Lively 

384 


APPENDIX.  385 

stones."     Show  the  analogy.    Conspicuous  position. 
Compartments.     Refuge. 

II.  The  foundation.  "On  this  rock."  Some  say- 
Peter,  others  his  confession,  others  still  Christ  him- 
self. "Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion."  Christ  is  the 
stone  which  the  builders  rejected.  Foundation  of 
apostles  and  prophets,  Christ  himself  being  the 
chief  corner  stone.  "  Other  foundation  can  no  man 
lay."     Immovable,  strong. 

III.  Security.  "  The  gates  of  hell."  The  grave. 
The  figure  in  the  text.  Subtlety,  malice,  and  power* 
of  infernal  regions.  Church  always  has  had  ene- 
mies. Infant  church.  Continued  existence  and 
triumph  assured. 

Apply. — 1.     A  lesson  of  Christian  charity. 

2.  Are  you  willing  to  live  and  labor  for  the 
church  ?    "  For  her  my  tears  shall  fall." 

3.  Some  of  you  may  say,  "  I  have  no  interest  in 
the  church."    I  thank  God  I  do  not  feel  so. 

4.  Some  once  in  the  church  are  now  in  the  world. 
Can  you  not  express  your  longing  for  restored  fel- 
lowship in  the  lines, — 

"  To  you  my  spirit  turns, 

Turns  a  fugitive  unblessed; 

Brethren,  where  your  altar  bums 

Oh  receive  me  into  rest  ? 
26 
V 


386  APPENDIX. 

LOOK    UPON    ZION. 

Text:  "Look  upon  Zion,  the  city  of  our  solemnities:  thine 
eyes  shall  see  Jerusalem  a  quiet  habitation,  a  tabernacle  that 
shall  not  be  taken  down ;  not  one  of  the  stakes  thereof  shall  ever 
be  removed,  neither  shall  any  of  the  cords  thereof  be  broken." 
— Isaiah  33 :  20. 

I.  Take  a  view  of  the  church  as  presented  in 
this  scripture.  Terms  here  employed,  Zion,  Jeru- 
salem, city ;  these  terms,  though  used  to  represent 
the  Old  Testament  church,  are  equally  applicable  to 
the  Christian  church.  *'  For  Zionh  sake — "  "  Walk 
about  Zion—"  "It  shall  be  said  of  Zion—"  "Of  Zion 
it  shall  be  said—"  "Let  the  children  of  Zion—"  "Out 
of  Zion  the  perfection  of  beauty — "  "  Jerusalem  which 
is  above."  "  A  city  that  is  set  on  a  hill."  "  City 
of  the  great  King."  "  City  of  the  living  God—" 
"  Glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee,  0  city  of  God." 
Order  and  laws  of  this  city.  Charter  of  its  privi- 
leges. A  quiet  habitation.  Peace  within  her  walls 
and  prosperity  within  her  palaces.  He  who  reigns 
is  the  Prince  of  peace.  Gospel  of  peace.  Inhabi- 
tants at  peace  with  God  and  in  communion  with 
him.  How  tranquilizing  is  the  voice  which  says, 
"  Be  still  and  know  that  I  am  God."  Be  still, 
anxiety  and  fear,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee."  Be 
still,  impatience,  I  am  God  and  the  times  and 
seasons  are  in  my  hands.  City  of  our  solemnities. 
All  connected  with  the  church  is  solemn ;  preach- 
ing, hearing,  praying. 

II.  Is  this  church  secure?     "It  shall  not    be 


APPENDIX.  387 

taken  down."  The  true  church  can  never  fail.  It 
is  a  kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved.  God  will  pre- 
serve unto  himself  a  people.  In  the  ark.  Abraham 
chosen.  Preserved  in  Babylon.  Behold  the  Chris- 
tian church.  It  has  met  the  most  violent  opposi- 
tion. The  infant  Jesus.  The  infant  church.  Prisons 
and  torture.  Multiplied  through  persecution.  .Jew- 
ish hate.  Greeks  put  the  church  in  the  crucible  of 
their  philosophy.  Magistrates  threw  her  votaries 
to  wild  beasts  and  into  the  fiery  furnace.  But 
blessed  be  God,  despite  the  Jews  she  was  the  church 
of  God  still ;  despite  the  Greeks,  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  has  gone  on  conquering  the  world;  de- 
spite the  magistrates,  she  has  come  forth  from  the 
lion's  mouth  with  no  rent  in  her  drapery ;  and  from 
the  furnace,  and  the  smell  of  fire  was  not  found 
upon  her  robes.  The  storm  beat  her,  the  tempest 
rocked  her,  the  lightning  scathed  her,  but  still  she 
Avent  forward  from  conquering  into  conquest.  Is 
she  not  secure  ?  0,  if  thus  in  infancy,  poor,  without 
letters,  without  the  support  of  the  powerful,  she  has 
fought  her  hardest  battles  and  obtained  the  victory, 
has  come  up  out  of  the  wilderness  "fair  as  the 
moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with 
banners,"  is  she  not  secure?  Now  art  and  science 
are  consecrated  to  her  service.  Kings  have  become 
her  fathers  and  princesses  her  nursing  mothers. 
The  world's  most  gifted  sons  and  daughters  worship 
at  her  altars.  The  press  is  scattering  her  Bibles 
like  the  leaves  of  autumn.      Her  missionaries  en- 


388  APPENDIX. 

compass  the  globe.  Her  members  shout  hallelujah 
from  the  tombs  of  the  patriarchs  to  the  coasts  of  the 
Pacific. 

But  will  the  time  ever  come  when  the  church 
shall  extend  through  the  whole  earth  ?  Let  us  hear 
what  God  the  Lord  says  touching  this  matter.  "The 
kingdoms  of  this  world — "  "  Ask  of  me — "  "  Alt 
the  ends  of  the  world  shall  remember."  "  Even 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun — "  "  I  will  gather  all 
nations — "/'The  Lord's  house  shall  be  established 
in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted 
above  the  hills ;  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it." 

III.  The  subject  should  receive  proper  attention. 
Look  upon  Zion.  Angels  look  upon  her  with  com- 
placency and  delight.  Look  upon  her,  sinners.  Look 
upon  the  true  Christian.  Remember  Zion  stands, 
even  though  you  oppose.  Look  upon  Zion  that  you 
may  long  to  join  her  holy  society.  Can  you  observe 
the  order  and  joy  of  her  children  and  not  desire  a 
place  with  them  ?  Does  not  j^our  heart  say,  "  How 
amiable  are  thy  tabernacles  ?"  Say  "  I  will  go  with 
thee."  "  Thy  people  shall  be  my  people — "  Look 
upon  Zion,  Christians,  with  wonder  and  gratitude. 
Behold  your  spiritual  birth-place,  .3'our  final  home. 
"One  thing  have  I  desired — "  Look,  and  resoh'e 
there  to  abide.     Labor  and  pray  for  her  prosperity. 


INDEX. 


Allegheny  Conference,  115. 
Appearance,  Personal,  79,  170,  278. 

Bachtel,  Rev.  J.,  63. 
Baltimore,  Residence  at,  200. 
Benevolent  Fund,  119. 
Boy  Preacher,  40,  51,  56. 
Bright,  Rev.  J.  C,  152. 
Brown,  Bishop  William,  63. 
Burtner,  Rev.  H.,  47. 


Depravity,  146,  160. 

Discipline,  Enforcement  of,  141,  229. 

Doctor  of  Divinity,  220,  237. 

Dodds,  John,  Visit  of,  275. 

Doup,  Valentine,  51. 

Education,  109,  158. 
Edwards,  Bishop  D.,  135. 
Enieritus  Bishop,  264. 
Erb,  Bishop  J.,  71. 


Castle,  Bishop  N.,  226.  Frederick  Circuit,  34. 

Chambersburg,  Sickness  at,  227. 

Chambersburg,  Visit  in,  in  1864,  183.  Geeting,  Rev.  George  A.,  38,  73. 

Church  Commission,  258,  268.  General  Conferences :  1837,  88;  1841, 

Churchliness,  289.  96;  1845,  108;  1849,  130;  1853,  145; 

Churchville,  171.  1857,  159;  1861,  174;  1865,  189;  1869, 

Civil  War,  175.  203;  1873,  215;  1877,  225;  1881,  232; 

Confession  of  Faith,  iii,  269.  1885,  254. 

Confidence  in  the  Future,   100,   105,  Glossbreuner,  Hon.  A.  J.,  27. 


Constitution,  92,  97,  256,  269. 
Controversy  in  Staunton  Spectator, 

194. 
Course  of  Reading,  148. 
Coursey,  Rev.  William  R.,  60. 


Davis,  Bishop  L.,  151- 

Davis,  Dr.  L-,  Appreciative  Words 

by,  238,  250. 
Dayton,  Residence  at,  207. 

389 


Glossbrenner  Family,  18. 
Glossbrenuer,  Bi6hop  J.  J.: 

Birth,  iS. 

Bishop,  III. 

Conversion,  29. 

Death,  277. 

Estate,  281. 

Family,  85,  173.  244. 

Home  Life,  84,  170. 

Leader  of  a  Class,  37. 

Licensed,  37. 


390 


INDEX. 


Marriage,  59. 

Ordained,  61. 

Presiding  Elder,  64. 
Glossbrenner,  Mrs.  Maria  M.,  252. 
Golden  Wedding,  244. 

Hagerstown  Circuit,  28,  33. 
Hanby,  Bishop  William,  112. 
Hartsville  Academy,  139. 
Hiestand,  Bishop  Samuel,  67. 
Hoke,  Jacob,  183. 
Hott,  Rev.  J.  W.,  182. 

Infant  Baptism,  160. 
Iowa  Conference,  116. 

Kephart,  Bishop  E.  B.,  233. 
Krack,  Rev.  John,  35. 
Kumler,  Bishop  H.,  Jr.,  192,  236. 
Kumler,  Bishop  H.,  Sen.,  46,  61. 
Kurtz,  Dr.  Benjamin,  23,  42. 

Lay  Delegation,  159,  204,  216,  226,  230, 

269. 
Lawrence,  Rev.  J.,  165. 
Loyalty  to  the  Discipline,  217,  240. 
Loyalty  to  the  Union,  190,  195. 

Markwood,  Bishop  J.,  70,  175. 
Maryland,  Visit  in,  213. 
McCue,  Major,  194. 
Mennonites,  90. 
Miami  Conference,  123. 
Missionary  Society,  149. 
Missions,  70,  106. 
Muskingum  Conference,  125. 

North  Ohio  Difficulties,  239. 

Ordination,  61. 
Otterbein  University,  120. 


Parsonage,  Bishop's,  200. 

Pastor,  80. 

Pennsj'lvania  Conference,  45,  113. 

Personal  Characteristics,  86,  279. 

Pleasant  Valley,  60. 

Preaching,  Early,  40,  53,  78. 

Preaching,  Character  of,  169,  283. 

Presiding  Officer,  290. 

Progressiveness,  293. 

Pro  Rata  Representation,  233. 

Reform,  130,  150,  1S9. 
Reformed  Church,  89. 
Reubush,  Rev.  J.,  71. 
Rhinthart,  Rev.  William  R.,  30. 
Russel,  Bishop  J.,  112,  19S. 
Ryraal,  Rev.  George,  62. 

Salary  of  Bishops,  112,  151,  281. 
Salary  of  Preachers,  54,  106. 
San-  jsky  Conference,  125. 
Scioto  Conference,  120,  137. 
Secret    Societies,   132,  204,   241,   258 

269. 
Sermons : 

Disputes  Among  Christians,  321. 

I  Magnify  Mine  Office,  301. 

Love  of  Christ,  295. 

Spiritual  Prosperity,  373. 

Sowing  Beside  All  Waters,   345. 

The  Church's  Open  Door,  356. 
Shenandoah  Valley,  55. 
Shiloh  Mission,  71. 
Shuey,  Christian,  57,  142. 
Shuey,  Rev.  George  A.,  60. 
Sketches  .- 

Look  Upon  Zion,  386. 

The  Church,  384. 
Slavery,  106,  109,  121,  133,  141,  150, 172, 

1S9. 
Staunton  Circuit,  55. 


Pacific  Tours,  209,  222. 


THMrKRANCB,  49,  io6,  131. 


INDEX. 


391 


Troup,  Rev.  Christian,  138. 

Union  Biblical  Seminary,  204. 
Union  Biblical  Seminary  Discourses, 

231- 
United  Brethren  Church,  Character 

of,  90,  127,  261. 
United  Brethren  Church,  Devotion 

to.  81. 
United  Brethren  Church,  Origin  of, 

89. 

Zahn,  Rev. 


Virginia  Conference,  45. 

Virgjinia  Conference.  The  Field  of, 

177.  167- 

Wabash  Conference,  118. 
Weaver,  Bishop  J.,  194. 
Weaver,  Bishop   J.  —  Funeral    Dis- 
course, 278. 
Western  College,  156. 
White  River  Conference,  124. 
Wright,  Bishop  M.,  226. 
John,  34. 


BX9878.8.G5D7 

The  life  of  Bishop  J.  J.  Glossbrenner, 

Princeton  Theological  Seminat7-Speer  Library 


1012  00021   2847 


